By Sasha Pailet Koff
In recent months, several global organizations have been reminded, sometimes painfully, that cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it is a supply chain issue. The ripple effects of a single breach can disrupt operations, compromise partners, and erode trust across an entire ecosystem.
Yet many organizations still treat cybersecurity as something to simply “check off,’ a compliance requirement, a technical audit, a box-ticking exercise. That mindset is no longer enough.
Just as a financial audit doesn’t exist to guarantee a company will never incur a loss, a cybersecurity program should not be viewed as a path to 100% certainty. Of course, assurances matter and governance, controls, and testing must be in place, but the real differentiator is how an organization responds when those controls are tested and fail.
Resilience is the new benchmark of maturity.
Organizations must be able not only to defend against attacks, but to rebound and rebuild quickly when disruption occurs. That requires understanding critical dependencies, identifying digital “failure points,” and embedding recovery-by-design into the fabric of supply chain operations.
If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that cyber incidents are no longer isolated events; they are systemic shocks. For leaders across global supply chains, now is the time to examine your posture.
Ask yourself:
Resilience isn’t built in the moment of crisis; it’s built long before it happens.
Sasha Pailet Koff is Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) and is Founder and President of consultancy, So Help Me Understand. She is Co-Chair Emeritus of the Digital Supply Chain Institute (DSCI). A version of this blog originally appeared on Sasha’s LinkedIn page.
