The term “father” holds different meanings for different people. For some, he’s a protector against life’s trials and tribulations; for others, dad serves as a guide on the best paths to take when doubt overshadows confidence. As Father’s Day looms on the horizon, I’m reminded that all the adjectives for dad nicely fit under the umbrella of security (and to get that card in the mail tout de suite).

Does Father Know Best in Cybersecurity?

Since television is the greatest global mediator between cultures, it’s as good a place as any to glean paternal proverbs and apply those wise words to cybersecurity. Here are just a few.

‘Them Who Don’t Look, Sometimes Get Took.’ – Mike Brady, ‘The Brady Bunch’

Despite the grammatical faux pas of this statement, Mr. Brady was dispensing wisdom applicable to far more situations than Greg’s purchase of a used-car lemon. Scouring data packets for threats has been an IT mantra for years; the problem these days is that simply looking for threats is no longer enough. There’s just too much data and too many false positives riding the information superhighway.

Threat research coupled with cognitive security can identify threats in shorter cycles and then parse benign intrusions to sort those from the catastrophic ones requiring immediate attention.

‘No Matter How Good You Are, There’s Always a Million People Better.’ – Homer Simpson, ‘The Simpsons’

While certainly not the best advice for the ego, Homer’s words are something all CISOs and their staff need to take to heart. From ransomware rings to the lone programmer crafting the newest exploits to steal personally identifiable information (PII), companies remain vulnerable to the onslaught of black hats no matter how well they staff and fortify systems.

The latest research from IBM X-Force tracked more than 600 million pieces of PII stolen in 2015, with a rise expected in 2016. While PII loss is primarily plaguing health care organizations, there is an exponential rise of traditional malicious code such as malware and viruses invading organizations at a higher rate. Cheaper computers, increased bandwidth and new subterranean layers to the Dark Web means the attackers will continue to prevail without a global community of white hats outside your organization to help thwart them.

‘We Must Protect Ourselves, Look After One Another!’ – Ned Stark, ‘Game of Thrones’

While Ned might not have been able protect his family after crossing paths with King Joffrey, his words encouraging everyone to pitch in immediately made me think of mobile in the enterprise.

With enterprise mobility management (EMM), employees can serve as their own stewards of protection to secure data as it streams from the enterprise to phones and tablets and then back again. A self-service portal for password resets, location tracking and device wiping helps keep IT teams sane as the consumerization of IT becomes the norm. EMM also lets IT integrate identity and access management, allowing employees to streamline access with single sign-on across cloud apps and services.

‘What’s Small Potatoes to Some Folks Can Be Mighty Important to Others.’ – Andy Taylor, ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

Probably the best advice of all: There is no one answer for cybersecurity because every organization will have different needs for protecting critical assets. Health care and financial services will need to batten down the hatches on their customer data, while retail organizations will need a better eye on mobile point-of-sale (POS) security to remain competitive. That’s not to say these organizations can’t learn from one another and focus on similar forms of data lockdown, but their stances on data sharing and portability will redefine the conversation to suit their specific needs.

Dads have to constantly adjust to unpleasant situations: consoling the child who fell off a swing, offering a shoulder to the brokenhearted, chaperoning the Taylor Swift concertgoers, being stern to misbehaving kids and so on. Your security systems must be just as tuned and flexible to fight against the unpleasant aspects of cybersecurity.

Happy Father’s Day!