Cybersecurity myth: Your first line of defense is not your information security team.

Honestly, when you hear the term “cybersecurity,” what comes to mind?

Perhaps you picture a team of highly focused experts in a darkened room, staring at screens displaying green text, defending the company against mysterious hackers. We tend to think of them as guardians of an impregnable fortress, while we, the ordinary employees, are simply residents living safely within those walls.

That image is comforting, isn’t it? But it’s actually a deceptive one, and it puts our companies at risk.

The truth is that the biggest security breaches don’t begin with a sophisticated attack. They begin with something ordinary, something that seems like a normal part of a busy workday:

An urgent email: A finance employee receives a very convincing message from “the CEO” requesting a last-minute transfer of funds to a new supplier. This is a classic phishing attack, also known as a CEO scam. The only line of defense isn’t a firewall, but a skeptical employee who decided to verify the request first.

A rushed deadline: The marketing team, under pressure to launch a new promotional website, uses a fantastic third-party plugin, such as a WordPress plugin, to get the job done quickly. Unbeknownst to them, this plugin contains a known security vulnerability, creating an open door for attackers. The reason here wasn't sabotage, but rather a business decision.

A digital Trojan horse: The term "Trojan horse" didn't come from nowhere; it comes from an old story. Trojans didn't fall through siege or force, but by accepting a seemingly innocuous "gift." Today's attacks come disguised as a useful PDF file or a free software tool that an employee unwittingly downloads into our digital walls.

These challenges aren't just problems for specialists to solve; they affect the entire company. Relying on a small team of experts to find every flaw is like having the best goalkeeper in the world, but no defenders on the field. It's a losing strategy.

The Emergency Room Security Model

Think of the emergency room in any hospital. The doctors and nurses there are heroes. They are brilliant experts who work miracles when a crisis occurs—a car accident, a sudden illness, a serious injury. We certainly need them.

But you wouldn't go to the emergency room for a flu shot, a routine checkup, or advice on a healthy diet.

The problem is that many companies today treat their information security team like an emergency room. They are seen as heroic experts we call on after the damage is done. But corporate security isn't built on crisis response; it's built on "preventive health." A company that relies solely on an emergency room is fundamentally unhealthy.

This model fails because it's purely reactive. An emergency room doctor can stitch your wound, but they can't turn back time to prevent you from tripping. Similarly, a security team can help "treat the aftermath" of a phishing attack that compromised an account, but they couldn't prevent the employee from clicking the link. They are constantly dealing with the consequences of decisions made by others, across the entire company.

True “organizational health”—and therefore cybersecurity—stems from the daily habits and choices everyone makes. It’s the company’s “public health” system. It’s the finance team practicing good “digital hygiene” by verifying payment requests, and the marketing team choosing “healthy” and secure tools from the outset. It’s a culture where everyone feels like the “family doctor” of their department, ensuring the safety of their work environment.

When everyone practices preventative care, the emergency room remains for actual emergencies, but it no longer represents the entire healthcare plan. A company that doesn’t live in a constant state of crisis is a company that can truly thrive.

From Emergency to Resilience Plan: Proactive Solutions
So, how do we move away from the reactive “emergency room” model?

By starting to think like a public health manager, not an emergency room surgeon. The goal is to create a comprehensive “resilience plan” for the company that makes safe choices the easiest and most natural choices for everyone. It’s not about adding more rules; it’s about changing the work environment itself.

1. Make the “healthiest” option the easiest one. A cafeteria that puts salads and fresh fruit at the front of the line sells more than one that hides them in the corner. This principle applies perfectly to security. We should design our internal processes and tools like our own “digital cafeteria,” so that the most secure option is also the easiest one.

This isn’t just theory. In the late 2000s, Google suffered a sophisticated cyberattack known as “Operation Aurora” [1]. The attack proved that even with strong walls like a VPN, compromising a single employee’s device could compromise the entire “fortress.”

Google’s solution wasn’t just to build higher walls; it was revolutionary. In response to the attack, they created what became the first massive global implementation of a Zero-Trust network, internally called BeyondCorp. In this model, they decided not to trust anyone by default, not even employees within the network. Every person and every device had to be verified for every action. This was a radical shift, creating a new and safer "paved road" for everyone to work on.

2. Establishing a Culture of "Second Opinions"
Before any delicate surgery, a good doctor encourages their patient to seek a "second opinion." This isn't a sign of weakness or lack of confidence; it's a demonstration of diligence to ensure the best possible outcome and avoid individual failures. This same logic should be an integral part of our work culture.

And it goes far beyond a developer simply reviewing a colleague's code:

For the finance department: Any large financial transaction should be mandatory and require second-party approval.

For marketing: Any major advertising campaign or press release should be reviewed by the legal department.

For human resources: [The following appears to be a separate, unrelated sentence fragment:] It should lead