The economics of making security a PR issue

Organizations focusing on stepping up their cybersecurity efforts are increasingly motivated by the potential for “negative press.” For security to be effective, it is time organizations approach it like a necessity rather than an optics enhancer.

Photo credit: Flickr — Yahoo! Yodel Anecdotal | CC-BY 2.0

“Data breaches, skimming, hacking, ransomware, leaks, crypto-mining, …”
If there is one thing the past decade has taught us, it is buzzwords designed to create panic, excitement and peek the readers’ interest. At times it has been about uncovering a security flaw impacting major organizations, other times to draw attention to unfilled job vacancies in the industry.

What’s interesting is, contrary to the noise generated by the media about cybersecurity which paints a rather suspenseful picture of the subject right out of a Hollywood scene, most real-world security jobs are often clerical and monotonous — like any other job. Much like 99% of the times, the TSA will likely not find a bomb in that suitcase or a security threat bypassing the metal detector, neither will a cybersecurity professional.

The problem with turning security into a PR issue is, it effectively becomes a way for…