What do high frequency trading firms have in common with manufacturing companies and global service organizations? When their systems fail, network connectivity drops, or applications slow down, users often assume ‘It must be security.’ Cybersecurity teams battle this every day.
The challenge stems from security’s position at critical junctions throughout IT infrastructure. While this first occurred with legacy controls like firewalls and intrusion detection systems, modern environments face similar dynamics with cloud security platforms, identity management systems, and AI-powered security tools. When outages occur, security infrastructure becomes an investigation starting point, whether it makes sense or not.
Why Security Gets the Blame
Several common situations lead to this:
- Security teams may lack complete visibility into proprietary or legacy systems, complicating rapid troubleshooting during incidents
- Past security-related incidents can create skewed perceptions of infrastructure reliability
- Documentation gaps for historical changes complicate investigation and resolution
- Communication breakdowns between security operations and business stakeholders amplify tensions during critical events
Breaking the Blame Cycle
Security leaders who proactively document changes, maintain clear communication channels with business teams, and build trust before incidents occur position their organizations more effectively. Understanding business-critical workflows and establishing baseline performance metrics helps security teams demonstrate their role as enablers rather than obstacles.
Key Takeaways
- Security infrastructure sits at critical junctions in IT environments, making it a frequent first suspect during outages
- Proactive documentation and change management reduce investigation time during incidents
- Building trust with business stakeholders before problems occur is essential for effective security leadership
- Understanding business workflows and maintaining performance baselines helps security teams shift from being perceived as obstacles to enablers