Every company needs a cybersecurity partner. The question is: how do you choose the most competent one from the crowd of players offering such services? The sector has attracted a lot of newcomers in recent years and gained notoriety for spouting unsubstantiated marketing hype. This suggests that there may be plenty of wrong ’uns out there.
Philip Hoyer is EMEA field chief technology officer at Okta, a digital ID specialist based in Silicon Valley. He says that “the painful truth is that cybersecurity procurement calls for elite BS detection. Ever since the Covid digitalisation gold rush, where all firms became digital service and product companies overnight, and the shortage of experienced specialists at the enterprise level, the cybersecurity market has earned a reputation for using fear tactics to sell silver bullets.”
Other common offences by providers include exaggerating their expertise and scale; aggressively marketing unproven tech; overcharging clients; and losing focus once the contract is signed.