Building Resilient Cybersecurity to Protect Critical Infrastructure

Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT issue — it’s a strategic capability issue. The underlying network of systems that support cybersecurity (eg. routers, switches, firewalls, and even the physical wiring) are critical to enabling other operational capabilities. If the network fails, the capability fails, whether that means delivering services more effectively, faster, or at greater scale. Countries like China and Russia already understand this — they use technology as a tool of power to achieve political and economic objectives.

You don’t need perfect security, it doesn’t exist. You do need resilience. Basic stuff — strong passwords, patching, multi-factor authentication — remove a significant percentage of threats. Beyond that, it’s about defending your assets effectively and increasing the effort to pull off a successful attack.

Cybersecurity strategy requires balance. You can’t win the Super Bowl just by relying on the offense or defense — you have to combine proactive measures with reactive readiness.

Defend forward is a mantra: anticipate the threats, use the intelligence to understand the attacker, and take action before they attack.

Incidents like WannaCry and NotPetya demonstrate how attacks can disrupt critical infrastructure worldwide. The key take away here is to understanding that cybersecurity is part of a broader strategic context helps organizations prioritize manage risk smartly.

Security sometimes feels excessive — until the day it isn’t. The key is being proactive, informed, and integrating action, rather than reactive firefighting.