The Cybersecurity Problem Nobody Is Fixing

Companies are spending more on cybersecurity than ever. Yet cyberattacks, breaches and vulnerabilities continue to increase. What if the biggest cybersecurity problem isn't technology at all? In this episode of *A Seat at The Table**, Jane Singer talks with cybersecurity expert **Greg van der Gaast* about why many cybersecurity failures are actually symptoms of deeper organizational problems — including poor processes, weak governance, bad incentives, unclear ownership and ineffective IT management. Greg has spent more than 25 years in cybersecurity, including working undercover for the U.S. government and advising executives and boards. Today, he challenges much of the conventional thinking around cybersecurity. Rather than continually adding more security tools and mitigation, Greg argues that companies should treat cybersecurity vulnerabilities like *quality defects* and trace them back to their root causes. *In this conversation, we discuss:* • Why more cybersecurity spending doesn't necessarily make companies safer • Why cybersecurity vulnerabilities should be treated as quality defects • How poor engineering and IT practices create cyber risk • Why fixing root causes can be cheaper than continually mitigating vulnerabilities • Why blaming employees for phishing attacks can hide systemic problems • How IT and business alignment affects cybersecurity • Why CEOs and CFOs don't need to be technical experts to improve security • How cybersecurity problems can reveal waste and inefficiency elsewhere in the business • Why cybersecurity should be a leadership issue, not simply an IT issue *Key moments:* 00:00 Why cybersecurity may not be a technology problem 02:22 What cybersecurity gets wrong 09:13 Fixing the cause instead of the vulnerability 12:13 When cybersecurity is really an organizational problem 16:19 Why CEOs should rethink cybersecurity 23:15 Why blaming employees misses the real problem 24:28 Does more cybersecurity spending make you safer? *The key takeaway:* Cybersecurity vulnerabilities aren't just threats. They're clues. Instead of only asking, *“What cybersecurity tool do we need to fix this?”* executives should also ask: *“Why did our organization create this vulnerability in the first place?”* Answering that question could lead to a company that's not only more secure, but also better run and more profitable. Sequoia Consulting: https://sequoia-consulting.co.uk *Get more B2B insights:* Subscribe to *A Seat at The Table's* newsletter for weekly B2B strategy: https://seat.fm/join-our-newsletter/ Learn how to build a consistant B2B marketing system: https://seat.fm/marketing-mentor/ #Cybersecurity #CyberRisk #CybersecurityStrategy #Leadership #BusinessStrategy