From physical conflict to trade stand-offs, the nature of warfare is evolving. While traditional battlefields still dominate headlines, a quieter, more pervasive form of conflict escalates in parallel: cyberwarfare.
Low-cost, high-impact and increasingly automated, cyberwarfare has become a defining weapon of modern power struggles. From state-sponsored sabotage to supply chain infiltration, today’s attacks are faster, more targeted and harder to detect than ever before.
This shift is being driven by two converging forces: the rise of AI-powered cyber tools and the growing complexity of digital ecosystems. What once required state-level resources can now be executed with open-source AI and minimal expertise. In fact, two-thirds of UK IT leaders believe Generative AI is levelling the playing field, giving smaller states and bad actors the means to launch attacks with geopolitical consequences.
In this environment, every network, asset and connection become a potential entry point. And yet, many organisations are still relying on defences built for a different era.
Fragmented defences in a connected landscape
As digital ecosystems expand, so too does the attack surface. Organisations today manage sprawling networks of IT, OT, IoT, cloud services, remote access tools and third-party vendors – each introducing new layers of complexity and risk.
Modern supply chains, for example, rely on a web of third-party contractors, remote personnel and connected systems that all require secure access. However, many organisations still rely on outdated tools, such as unsecured VPNs, or lack the contextual awareness to distinguish between legitimate and malicious access. This complexity creates blind spots. Without a unified view of their environment, organisations struggle to enforce consistent security policies, prioritise risks or respond quickly when threats emerge.
But for many organisations, that level of coordination and awareness is still out of reach because they’ve built up their security postures in fragmented ways – layering on point solutions with legacy systems. For example, an organisation might use one platform to manage user access and another to monitor endpoint activity without any integration between the two. Tools that rarely integrate or share data seamlessly create silos that limit oversight and hinder response. This patchwork approach leaves critical gaps in readiness, coordination and response.
Recent events have brought into sharp focus the devastating impact breaches can have. In the UK, we’ve faced empty shelves, panicked shoppers and customers turning to competitors, while in the US, an attack on United Natural Foods Inc. disrupted a nationwide food supply chain. Bad actors don’t need to break down the front door; they simply look for the easiest way in. An unpatched system, a forgotten endpoint, a misconfigured tool.
Increasingly, these are not isolated incidents. In a wider context, we’re seeing hostile powers aligning their capabilities and coordinating in ways that fragmented defences simply can’t keep pace with. From North Korean cyber operations routed through Russian infrastructure to Russia’s coordinated cyber campaign targeting defence firms and logistics providers assisting Ukraine, cyberwarfare is becoming the weapon of choice.
What’s needed now is a defence strategy that’s as connected and intelligent as the threats we face.
The shift to proactive, continuous defence
As attack surfaces grow and adversaries become more agile, the limitations of reactive security are becoming painfully clear. What’s needed is a more strategic, connected approach. One that doesn’t just detect threats after they’ve occurred but anticipates and neutralises them before they escalate. This is especially critical in a world where cyberwarfare is increasingly automated and coordinated.
That’s where cyber exposure management comes in. Essentially, this approach entails identifying, assessing, prioritising and reducing cyber risk across the entire ecosystem. To kickstart this process, contextual awareness is crucial. This means asking the questions “What’s in our environment?”, “How is it connected?” and “Where are the weak points?”.
By doing this, businesses can then gather clear contextual intelligence – understanding what each asset does, how critical it is to operations, how it behaves under normal conditions (so it’s clear when it moves from baseline) and what it’s connected to. This insight allows organisations to prioritise risk effectively and act with precision in a continuous loop
AI and machine learning play a central role in this. As attackers use AI to accelerate and adapt their tactics, defenders must do the same. AI-powered exposure management can process vast volumes of asset and threat data, automatically classify devices and surface the most urgent risks seamlessly. With this deeper understanding, organisations can then better anticipate where threats are likely to emerge and take steps to harden those areas in advance.
A connected defence for a connected threat
As geopolitical tensions rise and digital ecosystems grow more complex, the question facing organisations now is, “Are you prepared to stop an attack before it strikes?”
We’ve seen major brands take a hit to operating profits alongside reputational damage. No one is safe. And fragmented or reactive security simply won’t cut it.
Cyber exposure management is about unifying visibility, aligning priorities and responding to threats at speed across every layer of the ecosystem. Because in a world where threats are accelerating, the organisations that thrive will be the ones that proactively take action today – anticipating threats and neutralising them before they ever emerge.
