Compliance-driven organizations — or those that focus on meeting regulatory requirements — are not necessarily the most secure. While compliance does provide a baseline for adopting security measures, regulatory requirements may not fully account for human error or continuously evolving threats.
According to Verizon's 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, human error contributed to 60% of all data breaches. A recent report by IBM indicated that the average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million in 2024.
Because of statistics like these, more companies are shifting their security strategy from a compliance-driven and oftentimes checklist mentality of following regulations to a holistic approach that involves strong leadership champions, continuous improvement, and shared responsibility among all employees.
Why Culture Matters
Culture is the foundation of security-first organizations. Culture, combined with the tone of top leadership, shapes how people behave and make decisions.
When security is part of corporate culture, it becomes an integral part of everybody's daily routines and goals, as they instinctively use secure passwords, carefully check emails, and look out for the company's best interests. Security moves from being reactive and dependent on enforcement to being proactive and consistent.
As all organizations are dependent on the human element, or the stronger or weaker links that run your company, culture will drive all employees to serve as a line of defense rather than a liability.
This shared responsibility means employees will be more likely to report incidents and seek out best practices, as they feel responsible and supported by the organization, and less likely to think they are making a mistake or wasting someone's time by talking about a potential security issue.
The Cost of Inaction
Choosing not to be security-first could be costly. Those costs may not be just financial and might include legal implications, reputational damage, and decreased employee engagement. Here are several risks of not acting proactively now:
Increased risk of cyberattacks
Employees in organizations that lack a strong cybersecurity culture are less aware of potential security threats and are less motivated to be proactive when they sense something is amiss. This culture increases the likelihood of cyberattacks, from data breaches and ransomware attacks to human or technology failures.
Regulatory fines and legal consequences
Non-compliance with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can lead to fines and legal settlements.
While only becoming law in 2018, GDPR fines have reached 5.65 billion euros, or 6.42 billion dollars, according to CMS Legal. Fines have been levied on numerous companies across various industries, including Meta, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration, and the Austrian Post.
Operational disruption and downtime
Any downtime resulting from human error or cyberattacks can lead to lost productivity and revenue. Disruptions may not only affect company employees, but they may also affect customers, suppliers, and vendors working on your behalf.
Security-first organizations have the opportunity to build a more resilient operation as they are more proactive and thoughtful. Protecting the organization from security threats is integrated into all aspects of the company's operations.
How to Build a Security-First Culture
Building a security culture requires a commitment to awareness and transparency. By embedding security awareness into the daily routine, the organization will remain more resilient. Here are a few steps to take right now:
- Communicate often – Share all relevant security information, from technical updates to best practices and success stories. Ensure there are well-known channels for employees to report any concerns.
- Educate and train – Provide regular training on security topics relevant to the organization, such as cyber awareness training. Ask employees to attend training sessions that focus on their role, so they understand the part they play. Use real examples and bring in experts to make the training more engaging.
- Emphasize shared accountability – Ensure that employees understand their role in the organization’s cybersecurity posture. Develop policies such as Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) and require employees to sign them. This reinforces that security is not just an IT responsibility, but a shared obligation across the organization.
- Gamify security awareness – Use gamification to keep security top-of-mind in an engaging way. For example, run phishing simulations and recognize individuals or departments that identify threats or demonstrate proactive behaviors. Reward high performers to create healthy competition and promote ongoing participation.
- Continuously improve - Regularly assess your security posture through regular reviews of policies and procedures, thorough analysis of security breaches and incidents to make improvements in technology or manual processes, and perform audits as needed to ensure controls are working as designed.
- Integrate security into workflows – Make security as seamless as possible by embedding it into daily tools and processes. Include security training in the onboarding process to ensure all employees start with the right mindset.
- Set the tone at the top – Leadership must actively participate in security initiatives and demonstrate its importance through communication, resource allocation, and alignment with organizational goals.
Assess Your Current Culture
While the value in having a security-first organization is clear, what may not be so clear is whether you are leveraging all available tools to ensure that your organization has the most proactive and comprehensive security posture.
Consider partnering with an experienced provider who can bring Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) capabilities to your organization. An experienced vCISO can assist your organization with cybersecurity assessments, training, and guidance on current security trends.
Vistrada's vCISO services can provide your organization with a comprehensive view of its security posture, laying a foundation for building a security-first organization.
Contact Vistrada to see how we can help.
