In today’s digitally connected world, cybersecurity has become a top priority for every CEO. And with good reason. Some sobering facts:
- 45% of US companies have experienced a data breach. T-Mobile recently reported a data breach in which a hacker accessed the personal data of 37 million customers.
- 56% of customers actively show an interest in a company’s cyber-resilience.
- Companies that have experienced a breach underperform the market by more than 15% three years later.
- Discovery time for 60% of data breaches is weeks or longer.
(Sources: IBM and Statista)
With security risks rising, companies are allocating more of their information technology (IT) budgets to cybersecurity:
- The global information security and risk management markets are projected to hit $262 billion in 2026.
- Cloud security is forecast to be the strongest category for growth in 2023. Organizations are projected to spend nearly $6.69 billion on cloud security in 2023, an increase of almost 27% year-over-year.
- Application security, or AppSec, the second-fastest growing category, is projected to hit $7.5 billion in 2023, a growth of nearly 25%.
(Source: PurpleSec)
There is a reason that AppSec, is growing so fast. Digital transformation initiatives such as direct-to-consumer, new payment systems, and new unified communications or collaboration tools and systems, have expanded the range of vulnerabilities, with applications quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of concern.
Which companies are the most important vendors in cybersecurity? Click here to see the Acceleration Economy Top 10 Cybersecurity Shortlist, as selected by our expert team of practitioner analysts.
Six Things to Know About AppSec
Application Security, or AppSec, is the process of finding, fixing, and preventing security vulnerabilities at the application level, as part of the software development processes. This includes adding application measures throughout the development life cycle, from application planning to production use.
There are a few key things that C-level execs need to understand about AppSec:
- The importance of security: AppSec is an essential part of keeping a company’s data and systems safe from attack. It’s important for business leaders to understand the potential risks and consequences of a security breach and to make sure that their companies have the necessary resources and processes in place to prevent one.
- The ongoing nature of AppSec: AppSec security is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. CEOs should understand that security needs to be built into the development process and that regular testing and monitoring are required to stay ahead of new threats.
- The development team’s role: CEOs should be aware that the development team is responsible for building and maintaining secure systems, and that they will need to provide them with the necessary resources and training, including ongoing education, courses, subscriptions, and perhaps additional software tools. This goes beyond simply dedicating additional budget, but also providing them with the right tools, training processes, and guidance that they need to be successful.
- The complexity of the attack surface: CEOs should understand that their company’s attack surface is not limited to just their website, but also all application programming interfaces (APIs), mobile apps, web, cloud services, and any other endpoints that the company uses. A comprehensive approach to AppSec will help companies to reduce the risk of attack across all their digital assets.
- Compliance requirements: CEOs should be aware that AppSec is not just about protecting the company’s assets and reputation, but also about compliance with various regulations and standards. This includes understanding the relevant laws and industry standards, such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and SOC2, and making sure that the company’s systems and processes meet these requirements.
- Communication and Transparency: CEOs should establish a communication process internally and with their customers about the company’s security posture, incident response plans, and any incidents that might have happened in the past. This will help to build trust and instill confidence in the company.
My fellow Acceleration Economy Analyst and CISO Chris Hughes added this AppSec advice for C-level execs:
“C-level executives need to understand that when it comes to digital technology as a business-enabler, your application often serves as the front door to your customers and stakeholders. The same is true for malicious actors and those looking to exploit your vulnerabilities. For this reason, it is critical to ensure you understand how your organization both develops and delivers your applications securely and how to ensure your organization is making use of emerging industry guidance such as the NIST Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF) to do so. Another notable item is that for those selling software or doing business in the federal space, it will soon be a regulatory requirement to attest to using secure software development practices for your application development.”
Cybersecurity has become a major priority for all businesses and understanding AppSec will help C-level execs deal with this growing area of vulnerability. Besides reading the more than 750 pieces of actionable cybersecurity content on Acceleration Economy, I’d recommend that all C-level executives download a copy of our “Recover from a Cybersecurity Breach” Guidebook, created by the Acceleration Economy CISO Analyst team of Chris Hughes, Rob Wood, and Frank Domizio.
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