Leading the cybersecurity conversation not being a technician

The complex network of dependencies that make up the web value chain has become the new vulnerability. We tend to fortify the core of our infrastructure, but we leave the backdoors open: that entire network of third-party libraries and services that underpins the modern web. A single weakness can translate into an operational, financial, and reputational impact from which it is very difficult to recover.

The World Economic Forum summarizes it clearly in its: Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026:

“Cybersecurity is no longer just a technical issue; it is increasingly becoming a strategic economic priority. Decisions about how much to invest in protecting digital assets have become financial choices that shape an organization’s resilience, competitiveness and growth trajectory.”

8 keys to cybersecurity governance

1. Risk of concentration and technological dependence

Evaluate how many critical processes depend on a single vendor, technology, or legal jurisdiction, and what the implications would be of a prolonged disruption, regulatory change, or geopolitical restriction. The central question is the degree of effective control over data, traffic, and digital operations when critical services rely on external infrastructure (cloud, CDN, payment gateways, etc.).

2.  Web supply chain audit

It’s not enough to be secure; we must know the level of exposure our suppliers introduce, as recently happened in the case of Endesa (more information here). It’s necessary to periodically assess third-party risk to prevent an external vulnerability from becoming our own problem. Regulatory changes, sanctions, or geopolitical conflicts can affect key suppliers.

3.  Training, and more training

The human factor remains the weak link where credentials are compromised. Are we fostering a safety culture that resonates with employees? Training in good operating practices is vital.

4.   Visibility of critical assets

Maintaining an up-to-date inventory of digital assets (websites, applications, APIs, etc.) and understanding their security status is essential. Implementing strict identity management and least privilege policies is key to limiting the impact of any incident.

5.  Resilience and contingency planning

The first step is to acknowledge that there’s a paradigm shift, and the question “Will we be attacked?” has become “How long will it take us to return to normal operations after an incident?” Recovery Time Objective (RTO), service degradation, and revenue loss must be treated as business metrics and integrated into the dashboard.

6.  Proactive vulnerability management

Patching and bug detection in web applications should be an automated process prioritized according to business risk, not a pending task accumulating in the backlog.

7.  Regulatory compliance

Implementing NIS2 and other regulations to strengthen resilience is necessary beyond formal compliance to build resilience.

8.  Alignment with the economic strategy

Investment in cybersecurity should be evaluated based on its ability to protect economic value and reputation. According to the World Economic Forum, “The organizations that thrive will be those that recognize cyber resilience as a shared, strategic responsibility – one that underpins trust, enables innovation and safeguards the interconnected foundations of global society“. Clear scenarios allow us to see clearly what is being protected, what risk is being accepted, and what the impact of a relevant disruption would be on revenue, costs, and confidence.

Strategic responsibility

Anticipating these scenarios is part of strategic responsibility. Organizations that thrive in this context will be those whose boards of directors integrate these decisions into the core of their strategy, with clear priorities and a long-term vision.

This is where architecture, digital supply chain design, traffic management, and security make all the difference and improve responsiveness to disruptions with economic impact.