Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive
Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive is a strategic cybersecurity philosophy that positions security as a foundational element of every business process ("Centric") while simultaneously recognizing that security data, tools, and practices have immense value for departments outside of the security team ("Not Exclusive").
This mindset moves organizations away from the traditional view of security as a siloed "Department of No." Instead, it treats security as a central nervous system that protects the organization while actively feeding critical intelligence to Legal, Human Resources, IT Operations, Compliance, and Executive Leadership to support broader business goals.
The "Security Centric" Component
Being Security Centric means that security is the starting point, not an afterthought. It implies that the organization views every digital asset, employee, and third-party relationship through the lens of risk and protection. In a Security Centric organization, security is baked into the DNA of operations.
Proactive by Design: Security requirements are defined before a project starts, not added before launch. This aligns with "Secure by Design" principles.
Universal Visibility: The security team has visibility into all aspects of the digital footprint, ensuring there are no dark corners or "Shadow IT" where risks can hide.
Risk-Based Decision Making: Every business decision—from adopting a new AI tool to opening a new branch office—is weighed against its potential security impact.
The "Not Security Exclusive" Component
Being "Not Security Exclusive" is the differentiator. It rejects the idea that security data belongs only in the Security Operations Center (SOC). It asserts that the intelligence gathered by security tools (such as asset inventories, dark web findings, and vulnerability assessments) is vital business intelligence that must be shared with other departments.
Cross-Departmental Utility: Security tools uncover data that helps other teams. For example, an asset discovery tool (security) helps IT Operations (non-security) verify hardware inventory for depreciation tracking.
Shared Responsibility: Security is not solely the CISO's responsibility. Developers, HR managers, and Legal teams are empowered with security data to make safer decisions within their own workflows.
Business Enabler: Instead of blocking innovation, security provides the guardrails that allow innovation to happen safely. It shifts the conversation from "You cannot do this" to "Here is how you can do this safely."
Operationalizing the Philosophy
Implementing a "Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive" approach changes how an organization functions on a daily basis.
Breaking Down Data Silos In a traditional model, a finding like "Employee credentials found on the Dark Web" stays in the SOC. In this modern model, that data is shared with:
HR: To understand if the employee is being targeted or is negligent.
Legal: To prepare for potential privacy regulatory inquiries.
IT Identity Teams: To force a password reset and implement stricter Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
Unifying the Tech Stack Organizations stop buying niche tools that only the security analysts understand. They prioritize platforms that output data in formats usable by the GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) team, the DevOps team, and the Procurement team.
Elevating Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) Vendor risk is no longer just a "security checkbox." The data gathered about a vendor's security posture is used by:
Procurement: To negotiate better contract terms or price reductions based on risk.
Legal: To draft stricter liability clauses.
Supply Chain Leaders: To identify single points of failure in the logistics network.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main benefit of a "Not Security Exclusive" approach? The primary benefit is efficiency and return on investment (ROI). By using security data to solve non-security problems (like IT asset tracking or legal due diligence), the organization gets double the value from its cybersecurity budget.
Does "Not Security Exclusive" weaken security? No. It strengthens it. By involving other departments and giving them access to security intelligence, you create a "human firewall." When HR, Legal, and IT understand the threats, they become active participants in the organization's defense.
How does this impact the role of the CISO? It elevates the CISO from a technical guardian to a business strategist. The CISO becomes the provider of critical intelligence that helps the CEO, CFO, and General Counsel make informed business decisions, rather than just a reporter of technical glitches.
Is this the same as DevSecOps? DevSecOps is a technical implementation of this philosophy specifically for software development. "Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive" is the broader organizational strategy that applies DevSecOps principles to the entire company, not just the engineering team.
ThreatNG: Operationalizing "Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive"
ThreatNG embodies the "Security Centric, Not Security Exclusive" philosophy by architecting its platform to collect deep security intelligence that serves the entire enterprise. While its primary engine is built for cybersecurity reconnaissance and external attack-surface management (Security-Centric), the data it harvests—ranging from financial solvency to legal filings and brand sentiment—is directly applicable to departments such as Legal, Human Resources, Procurement, and Public Relations (Not Security-Exclusive).
ThreatNG transforms the security team from a siloed defender into a unified intelligence hub that empowers every business unit to make safer, informed decisions.
External Discovery as a Cross-Departmental Asset
ThreatNG’s External Discovery engine creates a "Security Centric" foundation by mapping the digital attack surface, but the resulting inventory is a critical asset for the wider business.
IT and Finance Alignment: The discovery engine recursively identifies every digital asset, including cloud buckets, domains, and subscriptions. This data enables the Finance Department to identify "Shadow IT" spending—software subscriptions paid for but unmanaged—and enables IT Operations to decommission unused legacy assets, reducing infrastructure costs.
Marketing Brand Control: Discovery often reveals unauthorized use of the brand, such as rogue microsites created by third-party agencies or "typosquatted" domains. This intelligence empowers the Marketing Department to restore brand consistency and protect the organization's reputation by leveraging security data to address a branding challenge.
External Assessment: Multi-Dimensional Business Intelligence
The External Assessment engine is the purest example of the "Not Security Exclusive" approach. Unlike traditional scanners that only look for "open ports" (Security Exclusive), ThreatNG assesses the target using Legal, Financial, and Reputation resources. This provides detailed examples of how security tools serve non-security functions.
Procurement and Vendor Management (Financial & Technical Examples):
The Scenario: The Procurement team is about to sign a multi-year contract with a critical software vendor.
ThreatNG’s Role: The assessment engine evaluates the vendor. It identifies Technical Risks (e.g., poor SSL scores, unpatched servers) that interest the Security team. However, it simultaneously accesses Financial Resources to discover that the vendor has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Outcome: The Security team warns Procurement not only about the hacking risk but also about the business continuity risk. Procurement uses this intelligence to either void the contract or negotiate significantly better terms, proving the financial value of security data.
Legal and Compliance Due Diligence (Legal & Reputation Examples):
The Scenario: The organization is considering an acquisition of a smaller competitor.
ThreatNG’s Role: ThreatNG assesses the target. It identifies Reputation Risks (negative sentiment on social platforms about privacy) and accesses Legal Resources to uncover a series of undisclosed lawsuits related to data mishandling.
The Outcome: The Legal team uses this "Security" assessment to accurately price the acquisition's liability. The security tool effectively performs the initial pass of legal due diligence.
Investigation Modules: Validating Risk for Business Units
ThreatNG’s Investigation Modules enable the security team to serve as the investigative arm for other departments, providing the forensic evidence needed to close legal or HR cases.
Legal Breach Notification (Sanitized Dark Web Investigation):
The Scenario: A rumor surfaces that customer data has been leaked. The Legal team is under a tight deadline to determine whether to issue a GDPR notification.
ThreatNG’s Role: Analysts use the Sanitized Dark Web module to locate and view the actual data dump safely. They confirm the leak contains PII (Personally Identifiable Information).
The Outcome: Security provides Legal with the timestamped, sanitized evidence needed to draft an accurate regulatory filing. The module serves a Compliance function by converting a rumor into a legal fact.
HR and Insider Threat (Social & Domain Investigation):
The Scenario: HR suspects an employee is running a competing business using company resources.
ThreatNG’s Role: Using recursive pivoting, analysts investigate a suspicious domain found in the employee's email traffic. They confirm that the domain is registered to the employee’s personal address and that it hosts a clone of the company’s product.
The Outcome: Security provides HR with the "Digital DNA" evidence needed to handle termination for cause, protecting the company from wrongful termination lawsuits.
Intelligence Repositories for Institutional Memory
ThreatNG’s Intelligence Repositories store historical data that supports long-term business strategy.
Audit Trails for Governance: By archiving past assessments and web pages, ThreatNG provides the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) team with a permanent record of the organization's external posture over time. This historical data is essential for proving "due care" during annual audits or insurance renewals.
Continuous Monitoring for Real-Time Business Awareness
Continuous Monitoring ensures that intelligence flows to the business consistently, not sporadically.
PR Crisis Management: ThreatNG monitors Sentiment and Reputation. If the score for a specific brand asset drops suddenly, it triggers an alert to the Public Relations team. This allows PR to get ahead of a negative news cycle before it trends, using a cyber-monitoring tool as a brand-sentiment radar.
Reporting
ThreatNG’s Reporting module translates technical data into business language.
Board-Level Scorecards: The reports abstract the technical details (CVEs, ports) into high-level scores (0-100) and letter grades (A-F). This allows the C-Suite and Board of Directors—who are not security experts—to understand the organization’s risk posture at a glance and allocate budget based on objective metrics rather than fear.
Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG actively cooperates with non-security platforms to operationalize the "Not Exclusive" philosophy, feeding security intelligence directly into the workflows of other departments.
Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) ThreatNG validates policy adherence.
Cooperation: ThreatNG integrates with HR systems to identify employees who disclose their corporate identity on high-risk platforms (e.g., dating sites or dark web forums). This intelligence helps HR teams enforce social media policies and conduct targeted training, turning the HR department into an active participant in credential hygiene.
Procurement and Supply Chain Management (SCM) Platforms ThreatNG automates vendor vetting.
Cooperation: SCM platforms manage vendors' logistics. ThreatNG complements this by feeding live "Risk Scores" into the SCM dashboard. If a vendor’s financial or technical health score drops below a threshold, ThreatNG signals the SCM system to pause orders or trigger a vendor review, embedding security logic directly into the supply chain workflow.
Legal Practice Management Software ThreatNG provides discovery evidence.
Cooperation: Legal teams use software to manage cases and contracts. ThreatNG works with these solutions by providing exports of Legal and Regulatory findings (such as discovered lawsuits or privacy violations). This allows the legal team to maintain a "Cyber Dossier" for every partner or target, directly attached to their legal file, ensuring they negotiate contracts with full visibility into the counterparty's digital risks.
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Platforms ThreatNG unifies risk visibility.
Cooperation: ERM platforms assess total business risk (market, credit, and operational). ThreatNG feeds the "Cyber" and "Reputational" data points into the ERM. This ensures that the Chief Risk Officer sees cybersecurity not as a separate technical issue, but as a weighted variable in the overall enterprise risk equation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does ThreatNG help the Finance department? ThreatNG helps Finance assess vendor financial stability (via bankruptcy and lien searches) and identify "Shadow IT" assets (cloud instances, unused domains) that are draining the budget without approval.
Why is ThreatNG useful for Legal teams? It provides objective, timestamped evidence for investigations. Whether proving trademark infringement (via domain discovery), validating a data breach (via dark web investigation), or assessing a merger target's liability, ThreatNG acts as a digital investigator for the General Counsel.
Does this approach dilute the security focus? No. It amplifies it. By making security data useful to HR, Legal, and Finance, ThreatNG turns those departments into allies. They become more invested in the security program because it delivers direct value, leading to stronger budget support and a stronger security culture.
