As cyber security budgets tighten and attack surfaces expand, organisations face a critical challenge: how to achieve maximum security impact with finite resources. In this blog, we examine why mastering security fundamentals delivers demonstrable value in today’s threat landscape and provides a framework for prioritising security investments.
The economics of security fundamentals
In boardrooms across industries, security leaders face mounting pressure to demonstrate security ROI while protecting expanding digital footprints. Recent breach analysis reveals a consistent pattern: organisations that master security fundamentals show measurably better resilience while optimising their security investments.
The maths is straightforward. While advanced security tools and AI-driven solutions grab headlines, according to Microsoft’s Digital Defence Report 2024, successful breaches consistently exploit fundamental gaps including:
- Unpatched known vulnerabilities
- Misconfigured cloud services
- Weak identity controls
- Poor security hygiene
Rethinking security maturity
“Many organisations allocate significant budget to advanced security solutions while underinvesting in basic controls”, notes Mark Weait, CRO. “This imbalance often creates security gaps that sophisticated attackers readily exploit.”
This pattern emerges consistently in breach analysis reports. When organisations focus heavily on advanced detection capabilities without mastering fundamentals like patch management, access controls, and security hygiene, they remain vulnerable to basic attack vectors.
The path to improved security often lies not in acquiring more sophisticated tools, but in strengthening core security controls that provide measurable risk reduction and clear operational benefits, as well as taking the time to truly understand your own environment to ensure that you are monitoring the areas that are most exposed to cyber risk and exploitation.
The hidden costs of complexity
As a leading Microsoft Solutions Partner with security specialisation and verified MXDR capabilities, ITC has witnessed firsthand how modern security tools promise enhanced protection but can introduce costly complexity if the basics are not already in place. Our analysis shows that:
- Operational Impact
- Security teams dedicate disproportionate time to tool management rather than threat hunting
- Tool sprawl significantly impacts incident response time
- Complex security stacks create additional attack surface
- Business Friction
- Overlapping security controls slow business processes
- Multiple tools increase training and maintenance costs
- Complex security policies reduce user compliance
- Resource Drain
- Tool integration consumes significant engineering resources
- Alert noise reduces analyst effectiveness
- Complex environments require specialised expertise
Building a strong foundation: Summit preview
The upcoming ITC Cyber Summit 2025 will provide practical frameworks for strengthening security fundamentals while reducing complexity. Key sessions include:
- Global threat context: Lt. Gen. Sir Graeme Lamb examines how geopolitical shifts impact security priorities and resource allocation.
- Strategic security planning: Sarah Armstrong-Smith shares Microsoft’s framework for building scalable security foundations that enable business growth.
- Effective protection through simplification: Rik Ferguson delivers the keynote on critical steps organisations can take today.
Taking action now
While perfect security remains impossible, mastering the basics provides measurable risk reduction and clear ROI. Our recommendations for immediate action:
- Assess Your Foundation
- Map current security controls against basic security frameworks
- Identify gaps in fundamental controls
- Measure operational impact of security complexity
- Optimise Investment
- Review security spend allocation across basic vs. advanced controls
- Calculate ROI of security tools and processes
- Identify opportunities to reduce complexity
- Build for Scale
- Implement automated security hygiene checks
- Standardise security processes across environments
- Focus on repeatable, measurable controls
Join the discussion
The ITC Cyber Summit 2025 brings together security leaders to share practical insights on building strong security foundations that scale. Join us on 23 January at RSA House, London, to learn how leading organisations are maximising security ROI through mastering the basics.
Register now for the ITC Cyber Summit 2025
About ITC Secure: A Microsoft Solutions Partner delivering cyber security services for over 25 years, ITC combines strategic security guidance with verified managed detection and response capabilities to help organisations build lasting cyber resilience. Our advisory-led approach and integrated delivery model serve over 300 blue-chip organisations globally.
