4 June 2025 · articles
Cyber Attacks Are Evolving - So Should Your Security Posture
Organisations across sectors are discovering that traditional, perimeter-based approaches can no longer keep up with a threat landscape driven by automation, supply chain vulnerabilities, and human error. AI is part of the solution, but it’s also part of the problem, as threat actors increasingly harness it to scale and personalise their attacks. To stay ahead, organisations must shift their mindset: from relying on isolated tools, to building a resilient, adaptive security posture that’s ready for what comes next.
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4 June 2025
Author: Justin Day | Chief Product Officer
In a previous blog, we talked about how AI is reshaping network security, and why public sector organisations must be thoughtful in how they adopt it. That conversation was just the beginning. As cyber threats become faster, smarter, and more complex, the old models of defence are falling short.
Cybersecurity at a Crossroads: What Recent Attacks Reveal
Three high-profile UK retailers, Marks & Spencer, the Co-operative Group, and Harrods - were each hit by cyberattacks in rapid succession. The Co-op was hit with ransomware, allegedly by a group known as DragonForce, which led to operational delays and exposed customer data. Marks & Spencer suffered a sophisticated intrusion via social engineering. Harrods confirmed an attempted breach that, while quickly contained, still triggered widespread concern.
Each incident occurred in a different way, targeting different systems, and resulting in different consequences. But they all serve as reminders of the same thing: cybersecurity risk is now systemic, unpredictable, and rapidly evolving.
The question every board and IT leader must now ask is not “Could this happen to us?” but “What happens when it does?”
Why a Security Product Is Not a Security Strategy
In response to these threats, it can be tempting to reach for a new tool or platform. The logic is understandable: if we just plug this gap, we’ll be safe.
But cybersecurity isn’t like physical infrastructure, where you patch a wall or replace a broken lock. Attack surfaces are dynamic. Threat actors adapt. And vulnerabilities can emerge from anywhere - third-party code, unsecured APIs, even a forgotten password.
That’s why security must be treated as a posture, not a product. Your posture defines how your organisation anticipates, prevents, contains, and recovers from threats. It’s not a thing you buy, it’s something you build, maintain, and continually evolve.
It includes your policies, your network architecture, your training, your suppliers, your visibility, and your people. It’s all connected.
The Shift from Perimeter to Posture
Historically, cybersecurity was perimeter-based: create a hardened exterior, keep threats out, and trust everything inside. That model worked reasonably well in the days of office-based work and on-premise systems.
But today’s organisations are hybrid, interconnected, and cloud-enabled. The perimeter is no longer a fixed boundary, it’s a constantly shifting mosaic of users, devices, and applications.
Attackers know this. They exploit it.
That’s why a modern posture requires organisations to rethink their architecture from the ground up, embedding security not as an add-on, but as a core function of everything from connectivity to collaboration.
Zero Trust is one expression of this, a model where nothing is trusted by default, and access is continuously verified. But posture goes further than Zero Trust. It’s about how quickly you can detect anomalies, how effectively you can isolate compromised systems, and how confidently your teams can respond under pressure.
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To strengthen your security posture, there are four core areas to invest in - not just financially, but strategically and operationally:
Building a Posture-Led Organisation
The Four Pillars
This includes your internal policies, standards, compliance obligations, and decision-making structures. Good governance provides clarity on roles, escalation paths, and acceptable risk. It ensures that security isn’t siloed in IT, it’s embedded across the business.
Phishing, credential theft, and social engineering are still among the most effective attack methods. Why? Because they target the human element. Building a security-aware culture, backed by regular training and clear communication, is essential.
An incident response plan that’s tested once a year isn’t enough. You need live playbooks, automated runbooks, regular simulations, and clear alignment between your security and operational teams. Response speed and coordination make all the difference in a breach.
This is where platforms like Cloud Gateway come in. A modern network security solution must deliver visibility, segmentation, identity-aware access, and real-time monitoring, especially in complex, hybrid cloud environments.
But technology must serve the posture, not define it.
What This Means for the Public Sector and Regulated Industries
Public sector organisations, in particular, face a unique challenge. They are often bound by legacy infrastructure, tight budgets, and strict compliance regimes, yet they must operate at the same pace as more agile private-sector counterparts.
A posture-led approach enables them to modernise incrementally, without compromising core services. By adopting secure connectivity models and moving towards identity-based access controls, they can reduce exposure while increasing agility.
Similarly, for financial services, healthcare, retail and utilities, a posture-led strategy is often what enables digital transformation in the first place. If your infrastructure can’t support secure change, your innovation agenda will stall before it begins.
It’s Not About Fear. It’s About Readiness.
There’s no shortage of alarmist headlines in cybersecurity. And while recent attacks should prompt serious reflection, the goal isn’t to create panic, it’s to build resilience.
A strong security posture doesn’t prevent every attack. But it means that when attackers do get in, and at some point, they will, your systems are ready to contain them, your teams know what to do, and your customers remain protected.
That’s the real difference between being “secure” and being security-ready.
Where Cloud Gateway Fits
At Cloud Gateway, we’re not trying to sell security theatre. We know that no single platform solves everything. But we’ve designed our solution to be an essential part of a modern, posture-first security strategy, especially in hybrid, high-stakes environments.
Our secure connectivity platform gives organisations:
Network-level visibility across cloud, on-prem, and legacy systems
Enforced segmentation and policy-based access controls which you define
Real-time monitoring and alerting, with log export to your central SIEM / SOC tools
We help public and private sector organisations alike create stronger foundations, so they can build securely, scale confidently, and operate with control.
Final Thought
Ultimately, tools are only as effective as the posture that surrounds them. Even the most advanced platform can be rendered ineffective if deployed in a fragmented, reactive environment. Security posture is what gives context to your tools, guiding how they’re configured, how they interact, and how they respond when something goes wrong. It’s the connective tissue between policy, technology, people, and process.
In a digital economy where threats are constant and resources are finite, posture is what turns complexity into control. It’s the difference between hoping your defences hold, and knowing your organisation is ready - no matter what.
Attacks are evolving. And your security posture should too.
How can Cloud Gateway help?
Find out more about how Cloud Gateway can help you build securely, scale confidently, and operate with control.