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By James Roberts
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Cyberattacks targeting U.S. critical infrastructure have become a growing national security concern, while businesses are simultaneously facing a broader range of digital threats. Cyber-enabled fraud has overtaken ransomware as the leading cybersecurity concern among chief executives, with 64 percent of organizations also factoring in the risk of geopolitically motivated attacks, including espionage and disruption to critical infrastructure. Together, these developments point to a threat environment evolving quickly enough to influence investment decisions, corporate strategy and the relationships businesses form with customers.
That shift is becoming particularly visible during enterprise procurement. Large organizations are placing vendors under greater security scrutiny before contracts are signed, asking increasingly detailed questions about governance, application security, software development practices, privacy controls and regulatory compliance. For growing businesses, cybersecurity is becoming part of demonstrating that the organization is prepared to handle larger customers and more complex commercial relationships.
The financial case for acting early has also become harder to ignore. The average global cost of a data breach was $4.44 million in 2025, declining by nine percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, 78 percent of organizations expect their cybersecurity budgets to increase, while only six percent described themselves as highly capable of withstanding cyberattacks across all the vulnerabilities surveyed.
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Yet despite those trends, many companies continue treating cybersecurity as a project that can wait until growth demands it. Investment often follows a failed security assessment, a near miss or an enterprise customer requesting evidence that existing security practices meet its standards. By that point, strengthening security frequently becomes more disruptive, more expensive and more time-consuming than it would have been earlier in the company’s growth journey.
Douglas Reed, founder and managing partner of Linda Mar Associates, believes that mindset is becoming increasingly costly for ambitious businesses.
“Many organizations still see cybersecurity as something they’ll invest in after they reach the next stage of growth,” Reed says. “What we’re seeing is the opposite. Larger customers increasingly expect those capabilities to already be in place. Cybersecurity has become part of proving your business is ready to grow.”
Reed founded Linda Mar Associates after more than three decades in software engineering, fintech and information security, including leadership roles supporting highly regulated industries. Today, the firm helps organizations strengthen information security, data privacy, governance, application security and AI-enabled security operations. According to Reed, many clients first reach out after a security incident or during negotiations with enterprise customers that require far more rigorous technical due diligence than they anticipated.
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Those conversations inspired the firm’s development of CodeGuard, an AI-enabled platform that continuously analyzes source code and security controls using proprietary AI agents. Rather than replacing cybersecurity professionals, the platform is designed to help specialists identify vulnerabilities earlier and respond more efficiently, allowing organizations to address security issues before they become business obstacles.
“The window between discovering a vulnerability and someone trying to exploit it continues to shrink,” Reed says. “AI is accelerating both sides of cybersecurity. Businesses need to be able to identify and address issues at that same speed if they want to stay ahead.”
According to Reed, AI is changing expectations across the cybersecurity industry. As certain technical tasks become more efficient through automation, he believes the conversation is shifting away from the amount of time spent on an engagement and toward whether security investments produce meaningful reductions in organizational risk.
“The value isn’t measured by how long someone spends working,” Reed says. “It’s measured by whether risks are identified, vulnerabilities are reduced and the business is better positioned to move forward with confidence.”
That philosophy reflects a broader shift taking place across professional services as AI reshapes knowledge work. Organizations are beginning to evaluate technology partners on the outcomes they help create rather than the time required to deliver those outcomes. In cybersecurity, where delays can affect customer trust, regulatory compliance and commercial growth simultaneously, that evolution may become particularly significant.
As cybersecurity continues moving closer to the center of business strategy, the organizations that prepare before opportunity arrives may find themselves in a stronger competitive position when larger customers come calling. Reed believes proactive security has become one of the clearest signals that a business is ready to operate at the next level.
“Growth and cybersecurity are no longer separate conversations,” he says. “The businesses that recognize that connection early will be better prepared for the customers, partnerships and opportunities they’re working to earn.”
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