You can have strong governance, modern tools, and experienced teams, yet still be one incident away from disruption.
Across many organizations, a recurring issue stands out: IT operations and cybersecurity gradually drift apart. This misalignment could remain invisible to leadership until a disruption or breach exposes the gaps, and it's too late for a proactive fix.
The good news? These gaps are addressable if you know where to focus and take timely action.
One of the most common challenges we see with clients is not the lack of security alerts - alert fatigue is already a well-known problem, but rather what happens after automation has filtered out false positives and only actionable alerts remain. The real struggle lies in ensuring those validated alerts are effectively investigated, prioritized, and remediated without delays or gaps in the response process.
One important security alert could sit in an inbox or on a dashboard, waiting for someone to notice them, decide who is responsible, and act. By the time that happens, the opportunity to respond effectively may already be gone.
Case Study:
A company had invested in an EDR and basic SIEM, with automation rules to suppress false positives and enrich alerts. After filtering, they still had approximately 5–10 actionable alerts a week, but these often sat in the dashboard or a shared mailbox. There was no 24/7 coverage and no dedicated security team, so IT staff wearing multiple hats could miss critical alerts for hours or days.
➡️Lessons Learned: Even with strong EDR/SIEM and alert automation, gaps remain if no one is watching in real time. Alerts need clear ownership, defined escalation paths, and human capacity to act; otherwise, they risk sitting idle. In short, noise reduction is only half the battle, and rapid, accountable response is the other half.
Security teams and IT operations often work in different tools, creating misalignment and slower incident response. With scattered dashboards and no shared ownership, critical alerts can sit unresolved.
The problem is compounded by tool sprawl. Many organizations run more security tools than they can effectively manage. Each tool captures part of the picture, but without integration, no one sees the full view.
Industry insight: Almost half (49%) of enterprises now manage more than 20 different security tools, which correlates to increased complexity, reduced integration, and slower incident response.
The Platform Integration Advantage
Look for ways to embed and integrate security events and alerts into the tools teams already use, such as ServiceNow. This approach not only streamlines processes but also helps break down silos and keeps everyone aligned. Instead of juggling separate dashboards, alerts can trigger tickets directly in the same system.
For example, if a high-severity alert flags suspicious activity on a CFO’s account, it can be escalated instantly to the security team with pre-set workflows. Routine alerts, such as failed login attempts, can be routed differently, all within one unified view.
Seek out platforms with risk management modules that can turn security initiatives into actionable tasks with clear ownership. For instance, when a developer starts a project, the system can automatically trigger security design reviews based on the project type, making security part of the workflow rather than an afterthought.
➡️Lessons Learned: You can’t defend what you can’t see. With security by design and fewer silos between security and IT operations, risks are tackled from the start, not after the fact. Consolidating tools and integrating alerts into a single, accountable workflow ensures visibility, ownership, and faster response.
Many teams know what needs to be done but lack the expertise and budget to execute quickly. The global cybersecurity skills shortage affects organizations across all sectors.
Case Study: A regional utility faced NERC CIP compliance deadlines but lacked bandwidth and budget urgency. We reframed the effort as a critical operational risk, then delivered a phased plan, including modernizing core firewalls and switches, establishing clear IT/OT boundaries, implementing vulnerability management, and conducting penetration tests. Specialized resources handled the heavy lifts, keeping the internal team focused on daily operations.
Outcome: Compliance achieved ahead of schedule, zero downtime, reduced lateral movement risk, and a repeatable process for ongoing use.
➡️Lessons Learned: Capacity and budget are security controls. When headcount is limited, phase the work and use trusted partners for specialized tasks, while reporting progress in terms leaders recognize: uptime, compliance, and risk reduction.
One of the most consistent mistakes I see is treating security as a temporary initiative rather than an ongoing way of working. A new control gets rolled out, a compliance requirement is met, and the focus fades until the next audit or incident. In the meantime, risks accumulate quietly in the background.
The organizations that avoid this trap have one thing in common: strong alignment between IT operations and cybersecurity leadership. When the CIO and CISO work as true partners, security is built into every decision, from vendor selection to workflow design, instead of bolted on later at extra cost and with less impact.
Case Study: A manufacturing company had just passed a compliance audit, rolling out new access control system to meet requirements. Once the deployment project audit was over, attention shifted back to production priorities, and security meetings became infrequent. Over the next 18 months, no one revisited user access reviews or updated the system’s configurations. A minor incident occurred when an ex-employee’s account remained active months after departure. This triggered a deeper investigation that uncovered multiple dormant but privileged accounts, as well as outdated firewall rules.
➡️Lessons Learned: Treat security as a way of working, not a one‑off project. Keep CIO and CISO in lockstep so every tech and workflow decision bakes in security from day one—avoiding costly fixes and closing gaps before they appear.
Closing these gaps doesn't require massive budgets. The bigger impact comes from changing how teams work together and where security decisions are made. Here are four practical steps to start with:
Security will always evolve, yet the core principles remain the same. Strong performers treat risk management as an integral part of daily operations, not a parallel track.
About the Author:
Sydney Cherian, Director of Cybersecurity and Advisory Services at Coreio, is a seasoned IT leader with deep expertise in network engineering, systems architecture, and cybersecurity. Known for bridging the gap between technical execution and business strategy, Sydney is passionate about mentoring teams and driving secure, innovative IT solutions that are ready for the future.