CR ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ | ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ #๐ฏ๐ด๐ฏ
Last week, I asked a room full of CIOs, CISOs, and Internal Auditors one question:
“๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น?”
Nobody had an answer.
That’s interesting because organizations constantly add new controls.
New policies.
New tools.
New approval workflows.
New monitoring solutions.
New compliance requirements.
But very few ever stop to ask:
“๐๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ?”
Over time, security programs accumulate what I call ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐.
It’s similar to technical debt, but harder to detect.
Examples include:
- Controls implemented for systems that no longer exist
- Approval workflows that add delays without reducing risk
- Reports that nobody reads
- Manual reviews duplicated by automation
- Legacy security tools that overlap with newer platforms
- Policies that employees no longer understand because they’ve been amended dozens of times
Every unnecessary control consumes something valuable:
- Time
- Budget
- Attention
- Resources
- Trust
And here’s the hidden costโฆ
When employees are overwhelmed by too many low-value controls, they become less attentive to the controls that truly matter.
Complexity becomes the enemy of security.
One exercise every governance team should perform annually:
Create a list of your top 50 security controls.
Then ask five questions:
โ๏ธ What risk does this control reduce?
โ๏ธ Is that risk still relevant?
โ๏ธ Is another control already addressing it?
โ๏ธ Can it be automated or simplified?
โ๏ธ If we removed it tomorrow, would our risk materially increase?
If the answer to the last question is “No,” it’s time to rethink the control.
Cybersecurity maturity isn’t measured by the number of controls you implement.
It’s measured by the effectiveness of the controls you choose to keep.
The strongest security programs aren’t always the biggest.
They’re often the simplest.
Because every control should earn its place.
Not just inherit it.
๐ฉ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐, ๐๐ฆ๐ข ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐?
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ “๐๐ถ” ๐๐ผ +๐ต๐ญ-๐ต๐ต๐ฑ๐ด๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ.