At Take Command 2025, bold ideas and fresh thinking took center stage — in particular in our opening talk From Zero to Hero: Building the Perfect Defense.
Led by Ted Harrington, Executive Partner at ISE, and hosted by Thom Langford, EMEA CTO at Rapid7, this session challenged security leaders to think beyond traditional defenses and imagine a future where cybersecurity is smarter, faster, and proactive by design.
Here’s a quick look at the key insights from the conversation.
Security needs a reset, not a retrofit
Ted kicked things off with a fundamental question: if we could rebuild cybersecurity from scratch, what would we do differently?Instead of layering on more tools or chasing compliance checklists, today’s most resilient organizations are rethinking their architectures, embedding security principles like Zero Trust from the ground up, and designing systems to stop threats before they strike.
Think like an attacker to build defenses that work
The best defenders don’t just react, they anticipate. Ted emphasized the importance of adopting a hacker mindset within security teams. Creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to question assumptions are critical to staying ahead of adversaries who constantly innovate. Security strategies must evolve to disrupt attacker workflows, not just patch known vulnerabilities.
Security is a business enabler, not a roadblock
One of the biggest missed opportunities in cybersecurity is the failure to connect security outcomes to business success.Ted encouraged security leaders to speak the language of the boardroom, framing security initiatives as drivers of trust, resilience, and competitive advantage — not just cost centers or necessary evils.
