Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Cyberthreats are evolving, and unpatched vulnerabilities remain one of the biggest security risks for organizations. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, organizations that fail to patch known vulnerabilities face an average loss of $4.45 million per incident. Cybercriminals actively exploit outdated firmware and misconfigurations in network devices, making network vulnerability scanners an essential security tool.

Year after year, we continue to see increases in phishing and business email compromises (BEC), and the costs associated with these incidents are growing, too. The LevelBlue Security Operations Center (SOC) found that BEC attacks made up 70% of the total incidents investigated during the second half of 2024. Of these incidents, 96% of them involved one or more phished users.

At a recent Sydney luncheon, Trustwave sat down with a room of senior security leaders to dig into the evolving role of red and purple team testing in a modern technical security assurance program. The discussion was led by Trustwave's Craig Searle, Director of Consulting & Professional Services in Pacific at Trustwave and TJ Acton, Director of SpiderLabs Testing, Pacific. More than 20 Sydney-area security professionals attended the event at Restaurant Huberts.

Let’s be real: 2024 is the year AI went from pilot to policy. And in 2025, it’s not slowing down. Every enterprise I talk to, from high-growth SaaS companies to large-scale global platforms, implements AI internally or embeds it into its products. With that momentum comes a wave of questions: Is this secure? Are we exposing customer data? What will our auditors say? CISOs are now expected to balance innovation with protection, fostering progress while staying ahead of risk.

In this fast-moving world where businesses operate completely through IT infrastructure, waiting for a threat to happen and finding a solution isn’t enough. There should be a proactive approach, where you spot and remove a threat even before it touches your systems.

The cat-and-mouse game of cybersecurity never stops, and cyber deception in active defense gives defenders a powerful edge. Sun Tzu’s ancient wisdom “All warfare is based on deception” fits modern cyber defense strategies perfectly. Outsmarting adversaries has become just as crucial as blocking them.

In recent years, cybersecurity regulations have evolved to address more sophisticated cyber threats. In Europe, the NIS 2 directive is increasing pressure on managed service providers (MSPs) to ensure both technical resilience and regulatory compliance. While 78% of private sector leaders believe cybersecurity regulations effectively mitigate risk, many still need support with compliance.

Mandiant warns that the Scattered Spider cybercriminal group is using “brazen” social engineering attacks to target large enterprise organizations in a wide range of sectors. Specifically, the group targets “organizations with large help desk and outsourced IT functions which are susceptible to their social engineering tactics.” The threat actors impersonate employees and attempt to trick IT workers into granting them access. The group also poses as IT workers to target employees.

Cybersecurity professionals face an increasingly aggressive phishing threat landscape, and the 2025 KnowBe4 Phishing By Industry Benchmarking Report makes one thing crystal clear: transforming your largest attack surface - your workforce - into your biggest security asset is critical. 49 Seconds to Disaster According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), the median time it takes someone to click a malicious link is a staggering 21 seconds.

Firewall policy management has reached a critical point, characterized by misconfigurations, overly complex rules, and ongoing audits. The burden continues to fall on already-stretched security teams. For CISOs, the question isn’t whether policies are being enforced; it’s whether they’re aligned, effective, and resilient across every location and environment.