In an era where cyber threats evolve faster than many organizations can respond, situational awareness is no longer optional — it’s essential. Yet for many executives and boards, cybersecurity situational awareness remains an underdeveloped part of their Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) strategy, creating dangerous blind spots.

Situational awareness means having real-time, actionable knowledge of the cybersecurity landscape — both within your organization and across the broader threat environment. It’s about knowing what’s happening, what it means, and what to do next. Without it, enterprises are flying blind, leaving them vulnerable to emerging threats and attacks.

According to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, organizations that lacked comprehensive threat detection and intelligence capabilities faced breach costs up to $1.5 million higher than those that maintained situational awareness.

Why Situational Awareness Is a Board-Level Issue

For executives, cybersecurity situational awareness is directly tied to enterprise risk — influencing everything from regulatory compliance and operational resilience to brand reputation and customer trust.

If leadership doesn’t know where threats are coming from or how prepared the organization is to respond, they cannot make informed risk management decisions.

Top 5 Tasks to Build Cybersecurity Situational Awareness

Among the 10 critical tasks identified for improving cybersecurity situational awareness, these top 5 represent the most impactful, board-relevant actions that should be prioritized:

1. Establish Reliable Event Detection Processes

At the heart of situational awareness is the ability to detect anomalies, attacks, and suspicious behavior in real time. This requires deploying robust detection tools such as:

• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
• Log analysis tools and AI-driven monitoring

Without reliable detection, organizations are reacting after the damage is done.

2. Manage the Collection of Threat Intelligence

Situational awareness depends on knowing what threats are out there. Organizations must systematically gather threat intelligence from multiple sources, including:

• Industry-specific ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers)
• Government threat advisories (e.g., CISA alerts)
• Cybersecurity vendors and open-source intelligence (OSINT)

Proactive intelligence gathering enables companies to anticipate attacks rather than just react.

3. Analyze the Collected Intelligence

Raw threat data is meaningless without context. Organizations must analyze gathered intelligence to extract actionable insights, such as:

• Understanding attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs)
• Identifying specific risks based on the organization’s technology stack and industry
• Assessing which vulnerabilities are most likely to be exploited

This analysis enables leadership to prioritize defenses and allocate resources efficiently.

4. Centralize and Coordinate Security Processes in a Security Operations Center (SOC)

A Security Operations Center (SOC) acts as the nerve center for cybersecurity situational awareness — monitoring, analyzing, and responding to threats around the clock.

Even smaller organizations can leverage virtual SOC (vSOC) services if building an internal team is not feasible.

A SOC ensures real-time awareness and coordinated incident response across the organization.

5. Share Threat Intelligence with External Entities (Where Possible)

Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Organizations that share threat intelligence with industry peers, government agencies, and trusted groups contribute to a stronger collective defense.

Participation in ISACs, CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams), and other information-sharing platforms improves both internal and global awareness.

Why This Matters for Enterprise Risk Management

From an ERM perspective, failing to establish situational awareness is equivalent to accepting unknown and unmanaged risks. The consequences include:

• Increased exposure to ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs)
• Longer breach detection times — and higher costs
• Regulatory non-compliance and fines under emerging cybersecurity disclosure laws (e.g., SEC’s cybersecurity incident disclosure rule)
• Reputational damage that can erode shareholder and customer trust

As Gartner emphasizes:

“Situational awareness is critical to identifying vulnerabilities and threats before they can disrupt business operations.”

Final Thought: Situational Awareness is Enterprise Risk Awareness

Executives and boards must insist on situational awareness as a core pillar of Enterprise Risk Management — not merely a technical function delegated to IT.

By prioritizing these top five tasks, organizations gain:

• Real-time visibility into evolving threats
• Faster response capabilities to prevent or minimize attacks
• Informed decision-making for risk management and resource allocation
• Stronger alignment with regulatory and stakeholder expectations

In cybersecurity, what you don’t know can — and will — hurt you. Situational awareness ensures you’re never caught off guard.