Budget not indicator of successful cybersecurity solution

A successful cybersecurity solution is not dependent on budget, says research from Bell. In fact, recent data reinforces findings from 2022 data that shows organizations with the largest security budgets are not necessarily more secure. Other factors identified in this study matter more. While many of the factors Bell identified may require dollar investment as well as time, optimized resource allocation trumps total budget size.

Organizations with well-defined security governance outperform their peers. To be most successful, security governance is a process that ideally takes a collaborative approach across the business. In part because executing well on technical guardrails (e.g., configuration management, policy as code, access management, etc.) relies on agreed-upon risks, boundary lines, and responsibilities from across the organization.

It might seem counterintuitive, but the only governance factor found to coincide with a significantly reduced likelihood of reporting a breach was a mentality among business leaders to embrace change and be open to taking risk. Being open to change (and calculated risk) can mean the early adoption of new technologies, improved employee morale, and other factors that reduce the risks of a breach. 

To identify factors that correlate with success outcomes, Bell asked respondents questions about their organization's on-premises and cloud security practices. The result is a list of 29 factors that cover Governance & Culture, Teams & Talent, Cloud Security Practices, and Automation & Integration efforts. Of note, while many organizations report a high level of achievement across multiple key security outcomes, only 1.6 percent of Canadian businesses report high achievement on all top indicators.