Shadows to the light: The key role of visibility in strengthening cybersecurity

Fiat Lux: Lighting the Way to Cybersecurity

Detection is key in many aspects of life, from medical diagnosis to positive treatment to more existential threats posed by massive storms like hurricanes or destructive tornadoes. The quicker we can detect something threatening or dangerous, the sooner we can respond accordingly. While we take this for granted in everyday life, we don’t always appreciate the value of early detection in cybersecurity. Put another way, making cyber threats visible is key to mitigating the risk.

This three-part blog series focuses on how we bring light to the threats and make them visible. In this series, I will explore what we mean by visibility in terms of cybersecurity, methods to detect or make visible threats, and how to measure your ability to detect and respond to those threats, measured in terms of business outcomes.

Part I: There is More to This Than Meets the Eye

When it comes to understanding the meaning of this statement, astronomy is a good teacher. Throughout the ages, scientists and novices alike have stared into the night skies, seeking answers. They looked to understand the celestial motions to predict the season for agriculture, suitable times for trade and travel, or simply to understand the world around them. Until the invention of the telescope in the early 1600s¹ only six planets in our solar system were visible. Not nearly 200 years later, advances in telescope lenses aided William Hershel in discovering a seventh planet, Uranus.

 

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