By Olivia Dubois
·
June 10, 2025
Cyber threats are constantly evolving: ransomware, phishing, data leaks, supply chain attacks. CIOs must build a comprehensive cybersecurity approach to protect their organization's digital assets. Here are the key strategies to implement.
Attackers now target critical infrastructure, sensitive data, and supply chains. Attack vectors are diversifying (software compromise, social engineering, vulnerability exploitation) and the consequences for organizations are increasingly severe: reputational damage, regulatory fines, business disruption.
A security breach can lead to direct financial losses (ransoms, remediation, fines), damaged customer relationships, legal notification obligations, and, in some industries, regulatory sanctions. Prevention and preparedness have become strategic imperatives.
The CIO is no longer solely responsible for infrastructure: they must lead a cybersecurity strategy aligned with business objectives while ensuring compliance and resilience. Collaboration with leadership, business teams, and vendors is essential.
Identify critical assets, assess threats and vulnerabilities, and prioritize remediation based on business risk. A risk-based approach enables coherent resource allocation.
Define roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes for security. Policies should be clear, documented, and regularly reviewed.
Deploy appropriate solutions: firewalls, intrusion detection, next-generation antivirus, identity and access management, encryption of sensitive data.
Strengthen authentication (MFA), limit privileges to the strict minimum, and monitor abnormal access. The principle of least privilege should apply at all levels.
Assess risks related to vendors and partners. Supply chain attacks are becoming increasingly common.
Raise employee awareness of best practices, train on risks (phishing, social engineering), and foster a climate of trust for reporting incidents.
Prepare an incident response plan, test procedures, and define internal and external communication protocols for crisis situations.
Integrate security from the design phase of projects and systems, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Adopt a Zero Trust approach: never trust by default, continuously verify identity and context before granting access.
Work with business teams, CISOs, and leadership. Define KPIs to track the effectiveness of measures and continuously adjust the strategy.
Shadow IT and Shadow AI are among the most common cybersecurity blind spots. For CIOs, mapping these usages is an essential first step toward sustainable SaaS security.
Shadow AI Expert & Chief AI Officer
Olivia Dubois is Shadow AI Expert and Chief AI Officer at Avanoo. An HEC Paris graduate and former BCG consultant, she helps enterprises detect and govern Shadow AI and Shadow IT.
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