Tia Hopkins, Chief Cyber Resilience Officer & Field CTO at eSentire discusses how organizations can solve the right problems to build resilience.

Adaptability and resilience

The threat landscape is shifting at a pace that forces security teams to prioritize vigilance and adaptability.

Organizations can expect to face increasingly sophisticated attacks, with AI serving as both a tool to drive scalability and efficiency for defenders, as well as a weapon for adversaries – continuing to underscore the critical need for a proactive, resilient approach to cybersecurity.

The good news: AI has transformed traditional approaches to detecting and responding to threats by enabling things like faster analysis, automated defenses and predictive threat modeling.

The bad news: threat actors are leveraging these same capabilities to enhance their tactics and scale their capabilities.

When we consider the rise in attacks like AI-generated phishing campaigns and sophisticated deepfake attacks, we are reminded of the age-old game of cat and mouse, and the seemingly never-ending race to stay ahead.

If you’re nodding your head as you read this, it’s probably safe to assume you agree with the statement “it’s no longer a matter of if, but when”.

And if you agree with that, I’m hoping it’s not a stretch to assume you’re aligned with the mindset that resilience is the cornerstone of an effective security strategy.

To be clear, resilience is more than just recovery or the way you bounce back in the face of adversity; it’s the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from and adapt to adversity or disruption without compromising critical operations.

Achieving this level of preparedness and adaptability requires a shift in mindset from reactive to proactive, from siloed to integrated and from point-in-time (or static) to continuous (or dynamic).

As 2025 brings new challenges our way, successful leaders will be those that focus on building resilient systems, driving a culture of awareness and embracing the tools and frameworks that enable them to navigate an uncertain future.

We must begin to question whether “the way we’ve always done things” is still the right answer – whether yesterday’s solutions are still solving today’s problems.

More importantly, are we still solving the right problems?

These new challenges will also force organizations to consider their approach to risk management.

A critical component of a resilient security program is proactively managing threats and exposures versus the reactive scanning and patching approach associated with traditional vulnerability management.

The rapid evolution of the threat landscape will require security teams to focus on what matters most and allocate resources to effectively stay ahead of emerging threats, understanding that no organization can address every vulnerability at once.

The key to success lies in maintaining a comprehensive understanding of the attack surface, continuously identifying exposures and prioritizing remediation efforts before exposures can be exploited.

Ultimately, the path forward requires us to balance technology with human ingenuity.

AI and automation will play a crucial role in enhancing defenses, of course, but it is our ability to think critically, collaborate and adapt that will define our success.

While the stakes have seemingly never been higher, neither has the potential for innovation and progress.

By prioritizing resilience and constantly seeking opportunities to reduce the attack surface, we can meet the challenges of 2025 head-on, turning threats into opportunities for growth and transformation.

Tia Hopkins

Tia is the Chief Cyber Resilience Officer & Field CTO at eSentire, with over two decades in IT and cybersecurity.

She’s an Adjunct Professor, women’s tackle football coach, keynote speaker, published author and LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

Tia holds multiple certifications (CISSP, CISM, GSLC) and degrees (BS, MS, MBA) and is pursuing a PhD in Cybersecurity Leadership.

Tia is the Founder of Empow(H)er Cybersecurity and a board member of Cyversity, both organizations dedicated to driving diversity in the cybersecurity industry.

This article was originally published in the special February Influencers Edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.