The Second Economy: The Race for Trust, Treasure and Time in the Cybersecurity War

In today’s hyper-connected, always-on era of pervasive mobility, cloud computing and intelligent connected devices, virtually every step we take, every transaction we initiate, and every interaction we have are supported in some way by this vast global infrastructure. This set of interconnected systems comprises the fundamental building blocks of the second economy – the very foundation of our first economy. And adversaries, whether motivated by profit, principle or province, are singularly focused on winning the race through a relentless portfolio of shifting attack vectors.

The complexity and volume of these attacks are seemingly unstoppable. And, while the significant financial risk for compromised organizations is very real, the larger and more insidious threat rests with the erosion of the hard-earned trust of customers and other stakeholders. A foundational element of the actual economy, trust, once lost, is not easily recaptured. When it is shaken through a breach, seconds matter. To successfully compete against more sophisticated adversaries and protect their organizations, IT security professionals must take a second look at established security notions and challenge their thinking. Being second to none in this fight is essential, as the effectiveness and ROI of security solutions are increasingly measured by the business outcomes they enable.

Offering a practical prescription for both private and public organizations to remediate threats and maintain a competitive pace, The Second Economy is a must read for those who endeavor to lead and thrive in an ever-shifting environment.

Make no mistake about it, we are running a race. This is a race against a faceless, nameless adversary – one that dictates the starting line, the rules of the road, and what trophies are at stake. Established assumptions must be challenged, strategies must be revised, and long-held practices must be upended to run this race and effectively compete in The Second Economy.

What You Will Learn

• Understand the value of time and trust in a cyber-warfare world, enabling agile and intelligent organizations to minimize their risk of falling victim to the next attack
• How to accelerate response time by adopting a holistic approach that eliminates friction across the threat defense lifecycle, from protection to detection to correction
• How to gain sustainable competitive advantage by seizing first mover advantage in deploying solutions across an open, integrated security framework

Who This Book Is For

Senior-level IT decision makers concerned with ascribing business value to a robust security strategy. The book also addresses business decision makers who must be educated about the pervasive and growing cyber threatscape (including CXOs, board directors, and functional leaders) as well as general business employees to understand how they may become unwitting participants in a complex cyber war.

Table of Contents

Part I: A Second Bite at the Problem
Chapter 1: The Second Side of the Story
Chapter 2: The Second Nature of Markets
Chapter 3: Seconding the Cause
Chapter 4: No Second Chance
Chapter 5: Second-Guessing the Obvious
Part II: A Second Look at Conventional Wisdom
Chapter 6: Playing Second Fiddle
Chapter 7: Take a Second Look
Chapter 8: When Seconds Matter
Chapter 9: Second to None
Chapter 10: Cybersecurity’s Second Wind