In the quest for robust cyber security, many businesses are turning to compliance automation platforms like Vanta and Drata. These tools are gaining popularity for their ability to streamline the often-daunting process of achieving standards such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2. They provide a centralised dashboard, automate evidence collection, and offer policy templates. However, a critical misunderstanding is emerging: purchasing the platform is not the same as purchasing security.
These platforms can be part of the puzzle, but they are only about 20% of the solution. The other 80%—the real, hands-on work—requires deep cyber security expertise.
The Blueprint vs. The Build: Understanding the Gap
Think of achieving cyber compliance like building a strong foundation for a house. A compliance platform is like having a detailed blueprint, a list of all the necessary materials, and a project timeline. It will tell you that you need to pour a concrete slab of a certain size and thickness. It might even monitor if the concrete has been poured.
However, anyone can pour concrete and make it look acceptable on the surface. Only a skilled concreter understands the right mix, how to prepare the ground, how to reinforce it correctly, and how to cure it to ensure it can withstand the test of time and pressure. Without this expertise, the foundation might look complete, but it will have hidden weaknesses.
Similarly, a compliance platform can identify a gap in your security, such as the need for data encryption. It will flag this as a task to be completed. But it won’t select the appropriate encryption method for your specific environment, configure it to meet industry best practices, or test it to ensure it has been implemented effectively. This requires a cyber security expert.
The Chef and the Kitchen: Another Way to Look at It
Consider a world-class commercial kitchen, equipped with the latest ovens, the sharpest knives, and the finest ingredients. This is your compliance platform. Now, you could be given a recipe book with award-winning dishes. Does this guarantee a gourmet meal?
Without a professional chef who understands the nuances of flavour combinations, cooking techniques, and timing, the result is unlikely to match the recipe’s promise. A cyber security expert is the chef in this scenario. They take the “recipe” provided by the compliance standard and use the “kitchen” of your IT environment to create a truly secure and resilient “dish” for your organisation.
Where Expert Implementation Makes the Difference
At Vertex, we are often engaged by businesses that have invested in a compliance platform only to find they lack the in-house expertise to complete the required tasks correctly. The platform provides the checklist, but a cyber expert is needed for the hands-on implementation.
Here are some common examples of where expert intervention is crucial:
- Cloud Security Configuration: A platform might flag a misconfigured cloud service. A Vertex expert can perform a technical audit of your cloud infrastructure to identify and correctly configure access controls, encryption, and logging based on best practices.
- Vulnerability Management: Your platform will show you a list of potential vulnerabilities. Our expert penetration testers use a combination of tools and manual testing to identify, analyse, and document vulnerabilities in your networks, websites, and applications, providing clear recommendations for remediation.
- Securing Endpoints and Networks: The checklist will require endpoint security and network controls. Our specialists can assess risks related to your specific network setup, including work-from-home and personal device usage (BYOD), to help you implement appropriate security measures.
- Secure Code Reviews: A platform might check if a code analysis tool is present. Our experts can perform a detailed secure code review to ensure the code your organisation is creating follows secure coding methods and best practices, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities before they are deployed.
The Overwhelming World of Integrations
A key feature of these platforms is their vast library of integrations, often numbering in the hundreds. They can connect to your cloud provider, your code repositories, your identity providers, and more. On the surface, this sounds fantastic. But this ocean of choice presents a significant challenge.
How do you choose the right ones? A platform will tell you that you need to integrate a security tool for a specific function, but it won’t tell you which of the dozen options is the most effective for your unique technology stack and risk profile.
This is where a non-expert can easily go wrong. It becomes a box-ticking exercise. You might choose an integration simply because it’s familiar or easy to set up, not because it’s the most robust or suitable option. It’s like walking into a pharmacy knowing you need a painkiller. Without a doctor’s diagnosis, you might grab a generic pill that doesn’t address the root cause of your ailment. A cyber security expert acts as the doctor, analysing your specific environment to prescribe and configure the integration that will genuinely protect your organisation, rather than just satisfying a line item on a checklist.
The High Cost of ‘Ticking the Box’
Choosing the easy option just to tick a box is a costly mistake. In fact, you end up paying twice.
- The First Payment: You pay with the time, resources, and subscription fees spent implementing a control that only looks good on a dashboard but provides little real-world protection.
- The Second Payment: You pay again, and much more heavily, when the risk you thought you had addressed materialises. When a security incident occurs because a control was poorly implemented, the costs can be devastating—including financial loss, operational downtime, reputational damage, and regulatory fines.
Getting it right the first time is not just about being secure; it’s about being financially prudent. Investing in expertise upfront prevents the far greater costs of a future breach.
Achieving Compliance with Confidence
At Vertex Cyber Security, we partner with a diverse range of businesses. Many of our clients use compliance platforms to help guide their compliance journey, while many others prefer not to. Ultimately, we see this as a company preference. Our focus remains on the expert implementation—the 80% of the work that is required regardless of which tools you use.
We have the expertise to help companies achieve their compliance goals, such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification, whether they are using a compliance platform or not. The core of the work lies in the expert assessment, configuration, and implementation of the security controls themselves.
If you are embarking on your compliance journey and need the expertise to ensure your foundation is truly secure, Vertex is here to help. We provide the skilled hands to turn your compliance blueprint into a robust and resilient security posture.
To discuss if a compliance platform is right for you or how we can assist with your cyber security compliance, contact Vertex Cyber Security today or visit our website to learn more about our services.
