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How “Semper Fi” is Key to Cybersecurity

How “Semper Fi” is Key to Cybersecurity

Establishing a “loyalty culture” is the key to cybersecurity

Semper Fi

Always Faithful

Latin for “Always Faithful,” Semper Fidelis is the motto of every Marine — an eternal and collective commitment to the success of our battles, the progress of our Nation, and the steadfast loyalty to the fellow Marines we fight alongside.

Commitment, loyalty, and willingness to fight alongside a fellow Marine anytime, anyplace, and anywhere.

How is this relevant to an organization’s cybersecurity posture?

Why do people walk out with confidential information? Share a stock tip? Are you in fear of getting fired or laid off even after missing your children’s last twelve birthdays because you had to work?

How does an organization develop an “always faithful culture” and blend this culture into the everyday work environment?

The culture starts at the top of the organization. Are the CEO, CFO, CIO, and COO, and the board of directors spending their days parlaying to the investors and stockholders while lining their pockets with green at the expense of those that face “an enemy” every moment of the day following orders to the “T” hoping they are making their company the best in the world?

While the glass tower creates “competitive financial compensation packages” to entice its workers to go the extra mile. What happens when all of this ends, even after multiple attempts to climb the mountain full of mud to win a deal or close a new client?

Loyalty is developed through trust. Creating cybersecurity policies, including “zero-trust,” starts with trusting no one. What kind of message does this send to employees?

Once an employee loses that trust in their leadership, the only thing running through their minds is how they can leave and damage the organization on the way out the door. Burning bridges is never good, and I would never encourage anyone to consider this.

However, people who feel betrayed by their leadership open the door to short-term and long-term cybersecurity breaches. Employees performing their “quiet quitting” while employers are executing “ quiet firing,” this corporate culture clash creates more cybersecurity nightmares; even zero-trust, NFG, XDR, MDR, and every other “R” could not stop.

Why Loyalty is a Two-Way Street

From the inception of someone’s first day to their very last, organizational leadership has the morale and corporate obligation to demonstrate genuine and trustworthy loyalty to their employees. Employees must demonstrate similar commitment, even when things go wrong. Layoffs will happen in business. How leaders conduct themselves will determine how much cybersecurity damage will occur to their organization, both short-time, and long-term.

“Removing the zero-trust” mindset may be a good start.

Maintaining “always faithful” comes with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Yet, in the end, if both parties commit to each other, a positive culture will overcome the lack of trust, and the organization will win.

Anything less will result in more significant losses for both sides.

Semper Fi —

John

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Stories by John P. Gormally, SR on Medium authored by John P. Gormally, SR. Read the original post at: https://jpgormally.medium.com/how-semper-fi-is-key-to-cybersecurity-7c035081a681?source=rss-160023698d42------2