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CISO Thoughts with
David Lindner

Contrast Security CISO David Lindner provides his top three weekly insights for CISOs, developers and the security community here. These are updated every Friday, so be sure to check back for the latest news on what's top of mind in AppSec and DevSecOps.

The latest insights as of March 14, 2025:

 

sleepy frog in soup

 

 

Insight No. 1 — We are frogs, falling asleep in security-debt stew

Companies are drowning in high-risk software security debt, with critical vulnerabilities festering for an average of 252 days before they’re fixed — long enough to turn your tech stack into a hacker’s swamp. The old-guard application security tools — like Static Application Security Testing (SAST) — are failing spectacularly, proving as effective as a paper umbrella in a hurricane. Enter Application Detection and Response (ADR) — the bold, real-time solution that doesn’t just spot threats but neutralizes them on the fly, keeping pace with today’s breakneck development cycles. While SAST is stuck in the past, ADR is the future: proactive, agile and built for the chaos of modern software. Clinging to outdated tools isn’t just risky — it’s a fast track to breach headlines. The choice is clear: Evolve to ADR or get left behind in the wreckage. Your move, tech world.

Insight No. 2. — CISOs: Turning cyber lemons into business lemonade

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are no longer just the guardians of data. They are the architects of business continuity. In an era where cyber threats are inevitable, the true measure of a CISO's success lies not only in preventing attacks but in ensuring that the business can withstand and recover from them. This demands a shift from a purely defensive mindset to a strategic approach that weaves security into the core of business operations, making resilience an integral part of the company’s strategy.

cyber lemons into lemonade

 

CISO as sacrificial lamb

 

 

CISOs are the new sacrificial lambs of the tech world

The cybersecurity industry is hurtling toward a crisis as CISOs face escalating personal liability for breaches: a trend poised to trigger a mass exodus of top talent from these critical roles. This isn’t accountability — it’s a witch hunt. CISOs are being thrown in front of legal crosshairs, blamed for failures often rooted in underfunded teams, outdated tools and corporate apathy. It’s like punishing a firefighter for not stopping a blaze when the city didn’t provide enough water. The industry’s obsession with scapegoating individuals is not only shortsighted but dangerous. CISOs aren’t miracle workers, and expecting infallibility is a recipe for disaster. If this continues, who will dare to take the job? Whispers of CISOs jumping ship are already surfacing. Without CISOs, breaches won’t just persist — they’ll explode. The fix? Stop treating CISOs like sacrificial lambs and start providing the resources, legal protections and clear guidelines they need to succeed. Otherwise, the industry isn’t just burning out its leaders — it’s setting the entire house on fire. Wake up before the talent vanishes and the hackers take over.

 

fingerpointing

 

Don’t let your work culture hurt your cybersecurity

Foster a healthy cybersecurity culture by rewarding proactive reporting as opposed to  punishing mistakes. Shift from a blame-heavy mindset to one that values resilience and collaboration, reducing errors, and strengthening defenses.

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Cybersecurity Insights with Contrast CISO David Lindner | 02/27/25

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Cybersecurity Insights with Contrast CISO David Lindner | 02/21/25

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David Lindner

Chief Information Security Officer, Contrast Security

David is an experienced application security professional with over 20 years in cybersecurity. In addition to serving as the chief information security officer, David leads the Contrast Labs team that is focused on analyzing threat intelligence to help enterprise clients develop more proactive approaches to their application security programs. Throughout his career, David has worked within multiple disciplines in the security field—from application development to network architecture design and support, to IT security and consulting, to security training, to application security. Over the past decade, David has specialized in all things related to mobile applications and securing them. He has worked with many clients across industry sectors, including financial, government, automobile, healthcare, and retail. David is an active participant in numerous bug bounty programs.

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