This is the first of a six-part blog series that highlights findings from a new Mend white paper, Five Principles of Modern Application Security Programs. Be sure to look out for our upcoming blogs on each of the five principles. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitalization plans for global organizations by three years, while the adoption rate for digitized products and services increased by seven years.

Security is the biggest threat facing organizations that strive for faster software delivery. Organizations are witnessing increasing attacks due to application code gaps and security weaknesses. According to a Forrester report, software security flaws accounted for cyberattacks in about 47% of organizations.

2022 is the year that much of the world managed, to varying degrees of success, to get back to normal. People ramped up traveling, returned to in-person activities and many returned to the office. The pandemic changed most aspects of day-to-day life, but hackers and other bad actors generally continued making life difficult for businesses, governments, and non-profit entities.

In our previous Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM) blog we talked about the added value we as cybersecurity practitioners can bring to the table by sharing knowledge we take for granted with individuals across the organization that will ultimately help strengthen defenses. The first topic we covered was multi-factor authentication (MFA). CSAM’s next topic is using strong passwords. Here are a few tips we have found useful to share with colleagues, as well as family and friends.

Working in cybersecurity is stressful. You’re responsible for protecting businesses from cyberattacks which can put their profits and reputation at risk. So it’s unsurprising that working in cybersecurity poses problems for staff mental health. A huge 91% of cybersecurity professionals report feeling stressed in their role — and almost half of these said their work-related stress levels have increased over the last year. 45% have even considered quitting their jobs due to stress.

Spoiler alert: The answer is yes. But not in the way you might expect. Unless you live in an enchanted land where mermaids feed you healthy beer for breakfast, your security budget has probably shrunk recently. The good news is that this can be good news because determining with ruthless clarity the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of your cybersecurity program will help you take deliberate steps to improve it with an efficient spend.

Data and money are two of the key assets that any industry needs to protect, and this is particularly important for financial institutions. Defending financial services against cyberattacks can be managed internally by relying on the organization's own systems; however, relying on an external cybersecurity provider offers a number of advantages that make a difference in the event of an attack.