Everyone from interns to CEOs has heard the long-worn phrase “There is no such thing as 100% cybersecurity.” But as with many universally accepted sayings, the crucial question is: What does this mean?
In the context of cybersecurity, the answer should be a rethink. Absolute security is not only unattainable, it is also unnecessary. The sheer variety of sources of error alone makes it clear that systems can never be fully protected - from zero-day exploits, the exploitation of an as yet undetected vulnerability, and undocumented maintenance access to new attack methods and the human factor, to name just a few. Instead, we urgently need a risk-based approach that sets the right priorities based on legal and business aspects: Where are business-critical processes? Where is sensitive data located? And which systems can cope with possible temporary failures more easily than others?
Cybersecurity and Risk Assessment
Cyber security is not a question of absolute defense, but of intelligent risk assessment. It is therefore high time to say goodbye to the illusion of complete security and to use budgets specifically where protection counts most, instead of investing indiscriminately in the latest tools. Because no tool offers absolute security and in most cases budgets are tight. But the good news is that the right measures can raise the hurdles so that attackers would have to make exorbitant efforts to be successful in their attacks. This can include, for example, individual tools from the areas of End Point Detection and Response (EDR), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) or Secure Backup and proven disaster recovery strategies.
IT security remains a cat-and-mouse game, however, in which cyber criminals often have the advantage on their side. While they experiment with new attack methods, defenders usually have to react. Concepts such as Zero Trust shift this imbalance in favor of defenders by means of fundamentally more secure architectures, but the complete implementation of existing IT systems is usually quite complex and time-consuming. With the current rapid development of AI-supported attacks, we are perhaps even further away from absolute security than ever before, because in this case in particular, companies must first roll out new technologies and methods for detecting "advanced cyberattacks", continuously develop them further and also optimize them.
Cybersecurity is not just technology
Instead of continuing to simply integrate technologies, companies should pursue risk-appropriate strategies. This includes not only prioritizing vulnerable areas and making targeted investments, but also putting the human factor at the center of the security strategy. If software is difficult to understand or employees are restricted in their actions by complicated processes, missing functions or login screens with different passwords, they often look for loopholes - an ideal breeding ground for shadow IT and vulnerabilities that the responsible IT departments do not have on their radar. This is where awareness, training and transparency are needed.
Workshops that address the needs of the target group create awareness and competence in order to minimize security risks. The goal is clear: companies cannot simply implement security solutions "from above", but must ensure traceability with which they involve employees and adapt the systems to their everyday lives. After all, cyber security is not just a technology discipline - it thrives on the interaction of the right investments in useful tools and well-informed, sensitized users.
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