Let’s stop pretending that data is abstract. It’s not just “in the cloud” or “on the server.” It’s the backbone of your business. It’s how you invoice. How you track work. How you prove delivery. How you comply with contracts, regulations, and insurance policies. If you don’t know exactly where that data lives, how critical it is, or how fast it needs to come back online, you’re not doing incident response—you’re gambling.

Every year, organizations spend millions on phishing awareness training, convinced that simulated phishing emails will turn employees into a human firewall. But new research tells a different story: traditional phishing training doesn’t just fail—it can actually make employees more likely to fall for phishing scams.

As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, organizations face unprecedented pressure to protect their data and operations. Yet fostering a robust cybersecurity culture often encounters resistance, from leadership hesitancy to employee pushback. For vCSOs (virtual Chief Security Officers), the challenge is clear: drive cultural transformation by emphasizing education, accountability, and strategic risk management.