What Seattle’s Top CISOs Are Saying: 16 Key Cybersecurity Takeaways

What happens when cybersecurity leaders sit down for a candid discussion without vendors around? You hear what’s really on their mind. From the latest threats to the vendors you should know about, here are the top takeaways from our Seattle CISO and Cybersecurity Leadership dinner.

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How to Identify Tomorrow's Problems Today

• Leverage daily threat intelligence feeds: Subscribe to trusted sources like EMC Research, CISA advisories, and vendor-agnostic intelligence reports to stay ahead of emerging threats. 
• Engage in peer communities: Join CISO forums, Slack groups, or private discussion networks like Sagetap to get real-world insights from practitioners rather than relying on vendor marketing.
• Analyze cyber insurance questionnaires: Cyber insurance underwriters often predict future regulatory and risk trends. Review their evolving questions to anticipate what controls will become mandatory.
• Monitor regulatory fines and enforcement actions: Stay informed about significant fines and lawsuits (e.g., data minimization penalties) as indicators of where regulators are focusing next.

Most Impressive Vendors You Need to Know About in 2025

• Consider automation-first security tools: Tools like Tines (SOAR platform) allow security teams to automate tedious manual processes. Explore automation solutions if your team is bogged down by repetitive security tasks.
• Use your data lake for security insights: Platforms like Panther Labs, which leverage Snowflake, allow teams to conduct broader security analytics beyond traditional SIEMs. If your team has a data lake, consider how it can be better integrated with security operations.
• Adopt developer-friendly security solutions: Tools like ChainGuard simplify security for developers by automating patching with zero CVE images. If developers are slow to adopt security updates, find tools that minimize their effort.
• Invest in bot mitigation beyond traditional WAFs: Solutions like Shape Security (now part of F5) use embedded JavaScript for advanced bot detection. If credential stuffing and automated attacks are a concern, consider bot mitigation solutions that work at the application layer.
• Enhance cloud security with runtime threat detection: Solutions like Upwind Security provide real-time visibility into cloud workloads, detecting threats at runtime without adding operational friction. If securing cloud-native environments is a priority, consider tools that offer deep context on runtime activity to identify and mitigate risks before they escalate.
• Don’t ignore security awareness training: Many Fortune 500 companies are investing in human-layer security tools like Jericho Security. If your phishing or social engineering risks remain high, consider new-generation security awareness platforms that go beyond simple email testing.
• Explore non-human identity security: If your IAM strategy doesn’t include bot and API account protections, start assessing the risks associated with machine identities.

Where CISOs Need to Better Serve the Business

• Reduce security friction for employees: Avoid security policies that frustrate users, like excessive copy/paste restrictions or secure browsers that break workflows. Security should support the business, not hinder it.
• Align security priorities with business strategy: Read your company’s 10-K reports and financial statements to ensure security decisions align with business objectives. If you’re in the boardroom, you should speak the business language, not just security.
• Look for comprehensive security platforms that reduce tool sprawl: The market lacks a unified tool covering security from IDE to production in CI/CD pipelines. If managing multiple fragmented tools is slowing your team down, seek vendors that integrate security across the development lifecycle.
• Push vendors for better usability: Security leaders should demand that vendors improve their product usability instead of relying on security teams to handle poor design.
• Track and document outages for future negotiations: Keep records of downtime, impact, and vendor missteps. These can be powerful leverage points in renewal negotiations or when making a case for switching vendors.

Bottom Line

These unfiltered insights came straight from top cybersecurity leaders in the Seattle area. The conversation doesn’t end here—sign up for Sagetap today to access the most unbiased, data-backed intelligence on the vendor landscape from verified technology executives.