Cybersecurity is no longer defined simply by the tools an organisation has in place, but by how clearly it understands its exposure before an incident takes hold. As AI makes phishing, impersonation and automated attacks faster and more convincing, business leaders must look beyond technical controls and ask tougher questions about continuity, visibility and accountability. In this conversation, Diego Arrabal, Vice President for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, explains why a prevention-first mindset, supported by stronger oversight of AI, cloud and critical systems, is becoming central to protecting business operations, customer trust and long-term growth.
What is the biggest cybersecurity challenge enterprises are still underestimating today?
The biggest challenge many organizations are still underestimating is the widening gap between the speed of digital and AI adoption and the ability to secure these environments consistently. Businesses are embracing AI to improve productivity, accelerate decision-making and unlock new opportunities for growth. At the same time, AI is fundamentally reshaping the threat landscape.
Traditional security awareness measures were designed for a different era. Today, attackers can use AI to create highly convincing phishing emails, impersonation attempts and social engineering campaigns at a scale that was not possible before.
At the same time, organizations are managing increasingly complex digital environments spread across cloud platforms, applications, devices and users. This complexity makes it harder to understand where the most critical risks exist and which exposures can have the greatest business impact.
The challenge is no longer a lack of tools; it is having the visibility and context needed to focus on the risks that matter most and reduce exposure before it can be exploited.
How should CEOs and boards think differently about cyber risk as it becomes a business continuity issue?
Cyber risk should be viewed through the lens of business continuity rather than technology alone. A serious cyber incident can disrupt operations, impact revenue, interrupt customer services and damage trust that may have taken years to build.
As organizations become increasingly reliant on cloud, AI and connected digital platforms, cyber risk is now directly linked to operational resilience and long-term business performance.
Boards should be asking practical questions: Which business functions are most critical? How quickly can operations recover from disruption? Where are the organization’s most significant risks?
They should also be asking whether they have the right visibility across hybrid environments and whether their security strategy is focused on prevention as well as response.
These discussions are now as critical as financial performance and strategic growth conversations.
With AI changing both cyberattacks and cyber defence, where do you see the greatest risk and the greatest opportunity?
The greatest risk is that AI is making cybercrime more efficient. Attackers can use AI to automate tasks, improve the quality of phishing campaigns, generate convincing fraudulent content and launch attacks faster than ever before. This increases both the volume and sophistication of threats facing organizations and reduces the effort required to carry out successful attacks.
The greatest opportunity is AI’s ability to help organizations strengthen prevention. Security teams are dealing with enormous volumes of data, alerts and potential threats every day. AI can help identify patterns, prioritize risks, automate routine tasks and support faster decision-making.
When applied effectively, AI enables a prevention-first approach, helping organizations stop threats before they become business disruptions, while also improving efficiency and speed across security operations.
Are organizations investing enough in resilience, or are many still too focused on prevention rather than response and recovery?
Resilience and prevention should not be seen as competing priorities, but as complementary parts of the same strategy. Organizations are paying greater attention to incident response and recovery than they did a few years ago, which is a positive shift. However, prevention remains one of the most effective ways to reduce business risk. Every attack that is stopped before it succeeds avoids disruption, financial loss and potential damage to customer trust.
The strongest security strategies follow a prevention-first approach while also ensuring that teams are prepared to respond and recover if an incident occurs. Organizations need both the ability to withstand disruption and the capability to reduce exposure before incidents occur. Organizations that balance prevention, response and recovery are generally better equipped to maintain business continuity and adapt to an increasingly complex threat environment.
What is one practical step every business leader should take now to improve cybersecurity readiness?
Every business leader should have a clear, real-time understanding of their organization’s risk exposure across all environments, including AI usage, cloud platforms and critical systems.
Many organizations have adopted AI tools faster than they have established governance, security policies, or oversight. Leaders do not need to understand every technical detail, but they should know which AI applications are being used, what information those systems can access and what controls are in place to protect sensitive data. That level of visibility is essential for effective Exposure Management, enabling organizations to continuously identify, prioritize and reduce the risks that matter most.
Organizations that adopt an exposure management approach can move from reactive security to proactive risk reduction, strengthening resilience while enabling innovation.
