Author Archives: Sydney Pujadas

With cybersecurity threats growing more complex and regulations becoming increasingly demanding, many organizations are looking for leadership to guide their security programs. However, hiring a full-time Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) isn’t always practical, especially for mid-market businesses. That’s where Thrive’s Virtual CISO (vCISO) services step in.

A vCISO provides executive-level security guidance without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire. Thrive’s vCISO offering stands out by combining deep expertise, flexibility, and strategic alignment to help your business stay secure while achieving its broader goals. Here are the top 10 reasons why Thrive’s vCISO services are the right choice:

1. Cost-Effective Expertise

Hiring a full-time CISO can be expensive. Thrive’s vCISO services give you access to seasoned security leadership at a fraction of the cost, typically one-third to one-half the price. That means you can reallocate budget to other critical areas of your IT or security program without sacrificing quality leadership.

2. Meet Demand Without the Struggle

Finding and keeping a qualified CISO is difficult. The role has a high turnover rate, and experienced professionals are in short supply. Thrive solves this problem by offering access to highly experienced, credentialed professionals who can step in and drive your security initiatives from day one. With Thrive, your vCISO will work closely with your team to build a strong, long-lasting relationship, allowing them to help you reach your business goals.

3. Flexible Engagement

Every organization is different, and so is its security journey. Thrive’s vCISOs work with you to define goals, set priorities, and determine the level of engagement that makes the most sense. Whether you need a strategic advisor, hands-on help, or something in between, our vCISOs fit into your workflow, not the other way around.

4. Objective, Unbiased Advice

Because Thrive’s vCISOs are external experts, they offer a fresh, objective perspective on your security posture. Without internal politics or legacy bias, they can help you make the best decisions for your organization based on risk assessments, compliance needs, and long-term goals.

5. A Team Approach to Solving Problems

You’re not just getting one person—you’re getting the power of Thrive’s entire cybersecurity team. Our vCISOs collaborate with peers and draw on a network of subject matter experts to address even the most complex security challenges.

6. Scalable to Fit Your Needs

Security priorities evolve. Thrive’s vCISO services scale with you. Whether your business is growing, undergoing digital transformation, or adapting to new regulations, your vCISO engagement can expand to keep pace and continue delivering value.

7. Breadth of Knowledge Across Industries

Unlike an internal hire who may only have experience within a single organization or industry, Thrive’s vCISOs bring broad experience across sectors and scenarios. They’ve seen a variety of environments and can apply best practices from across the security landscape to your unique situation.

8. Certified and Credible

All of Thrive’s vCISOs hold industry-recognized certifications like CISSP and CISM. That means you get leadership that understands the strategy, the frameworks, and the technical depth needed to protect your data and meet modern security demands.

9. Tailored to Your Business

Thrive’s vCISOs take the time to understand your business objectives, risk profile, and operational needs. Then, they create a customized security roadmap that aligns with your goals, maximizes ROI, and helps reduce risk.

10. Focused on Compliance

Whether you’re navigating HIPAA, CMMC, DORA, or other regulatory requirements, Thrive’s vCISOs bring the experience to help you align your security program with relevant compliance frameworks. They’ll help you put policies, processes, and controls in place to stay ahead of audits and reduce legal or reputational risk.

Ready to Strengthen Your Security Leadership?

Thrive’s vCISO services offer a powerful, practical way to bring top-tier cybersecurity strategy to your business. With flexible engagement, industry-certified leadership, and a scalable approach, our vCISOs help you build and maintain a strong security posture without the overhead of a full-time hire. Contact Thrive today to learn more about how our vCISO services can help your business reach its goals.

Cybersecurity teams are constantly bombarded with alerts from disparate tools, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms, SIEM solutions, firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and vulnerability scanners. While these alerts are crucial for maintaining security, the large volume of alerts often leads to a phenomenon known as alert fatigue.

Alert fatigue is more than just an operational headache; it’s a critical security risk. When teams are overwhelmed, real threats can be missed amid the noise. Worse, alert fatigue can lead to slow response times, desensitization to high-priority incidents, and burnout among security professionals.

So how can organizations cut through the noise and focus on what matters most?

The Problem with “More” in Cybersecurity

Modern IT environments demand layered security architectures. While each layer is necessary, every added system brings more alerts. Some of these are redundant. Others are false positives. Many are just informational, offering little context or next steps.

Without proper integration and correlation, alerts multiply without clarity, creating:

• Unmanageable alert volumes
• Duplication across tools
• Lack of prioritization or context
• Manual triage bottlenecks

These issues make it hard to detect and respond to real threats effectively

Why Alert Fatigue Is a Security Risk

• Critical Alerts Get Buried: Security teams may overlook or ignore critical events when overwhelmed by low-priority notifications.
• Slower Response Times: Investigations are delayed as analysts sort through thousands of alerts manually.
• Increased Risk of Human Error: Repetitive alert triage leads to cognitive overload, increasing the chance of misclassifying a real threat.
• Burnout and Talent Retention Challenges: Alert fatigue contributes to burnout and the ongoing talent shortage.

Strategies to Manage The Noise and Focus on Threats

To combat alert fatigue, organizations must improve how they filter, correlate, and respond to alerts.

Implement Advanced Correlation and Contextualization

Not every alert deserves the same level of attention. Incident Response and Remediation platforms or Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions should correlate data from multiple sources, identify patterns, and highlight alerts that are part of a broader attack sequence.

Look for platforms that:

• Enrich alerts with threat intelligence
• Connect seemingly isolated incidents
• Suppress redundant or low-confidence alerts

Prioritize Alerts Based on Risk

Risk-based prioritization uses factors such as asset criticality, threat actor tactics, and potential business impact to score alerts. This allows analysts to focus first on what poses the greatest risk to the organization.

Solutions with built-in machine learning and behavioral analysis can improve prioritization over time.

Automate Repetitive Triage Work

More mature security teams are automating and orchestrating repetitive tasks such as:

• Validating indicators of compromise (IOCs)
• Gathering context from threat intel feeds
• Containing endpoints or isolating users automatically

This reduces analyst workload and improves consistency in incident response.

Establish Clear Alert Routing and Escalation Workflows

Ensure that alerts are routed to the right team members based on skill set, urgency, and severity. Set thresholds for automated escalation when a certain alert volume or severity is met.

Defined playbooks and runbooks streamline response, reduce confusion, and ensure critical alerts aren’t dropped.

Continuously Update Alerting Rules

Security environments change, and so should alerting thresholds and detection rules. Regularly review what’s triggering alerts and fine-tune your systems to reduce noise. Engage with MDR (Managed Detection and Response) providers to ensure configurations align with evolving threats.

Thrive’s Approach to Reducing Alert Fatigue

At Thrive, we help mid-market and enterprise organizations cut through cybersecurity noise with a managed detection and response service that goes beyond basic alerting. Our SOC analysts work 24x7x365 to:

• Aggregate data across tools and environments
• Use AI-driven correlation and prioritization
• Provide only actionable alerts backed by full context
• Automate containment and escalation where appropriate

Thrive doesn’t just flood your inbox with notifications. Thrive helps you identify and act on real threats fast, while filtering out the noise that clutters your inbox and wastes your team’s time.

Alert fatigue isn’t just annoying — it’s a serious obstacle to effective cybersecurity. To fight back, organizations must shift from raw alert generation to smart alert management, combining automation, correlation, and expert oversight. By filtering out the noise, your team can concentrate on what matters: stopping threats before they cause damage.

Contact Thrive to learn how we can help you reduce alert fatigue and improve your security outcomes.

Businesses need a strong technology governance framework to remain competitive, secure, and efficient in today’s marketplace. But what does excellence in governance look like? Organizations that achieve excellence align their technology investments with strategic goals, maintain robust security and compliance measures, and implement processes that promote accountability, agility, and innovation.

The Foundations of an Excellent Technology Strategy

A well-defined technology strategy provides a roadmap for leveraging IT to drive business success. A robust strategy will cover both current objectives and ways to adapt as new situations emerge:

• Business Alignment: IT investments and initiatives should directly support business objectives, enabling growth, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Innovation and Agility: A forward-looking strategy incorporates emerging technologies such as AI, cloud computing, and automation to foster innovation and maintain a competitive edge.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Organizations must ensure their IT infrastructure can scale to accommodate growth while remaining flexible to adapt to new opportunities and challenges.
• Risk Management: Proactive identification and mitigation of risks, including cybersecurity threats, regulatory changes, and operational disruptions, are essential for sustainability.

Defining Governance Excellence

One way of looking at technology governance is that it focuses on how to execute the IT strategy in a secure, compliant, and efficient manner. Excellence in IT governance can be characterized by:
Clear Policies and Standards: Organizations should establish comprehensive IT policies that govern data management, security, procurement, and compliance.

• Strong Leadership and Accountability: IT governance should be overseen by a dedicated team, including executives, IT leaders, and compliance officers, ensuring accountability across all levels.
• Cybersecurity and Compliance: A robust governance framework includes proactive security measures, continuous monitoring, and adherence to industry regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC 2.
• Performance Monitoring and Continuous Improvement: Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and regularly assessing IT performance ensures continuous optimization and alignment with business needs.

How Thrive Can Help

Thrive enables organizations to achieve their strategic objectives by helping them define and execute technology strategy and governance. Thrive provides real-world experience and insights through a comprehensive suite of services:

• Trusted Advisors: Thrive offers a variety of different types of consulting and engagement to meet you where you are and inform your overall IT approach. From current-state assessments to vCIO engagements, you can gain a deeper understanding of your IT teams, processes, and platforms and how to align them to your overall goals.
• Strategic IT Planning: Thrive works closely with organizations to develop a tailored technology roadmap that drives innovation, scalability, and efficiency while helping organizations reach their business goals.
• Security & Compliance Expertise: Thrive’s cybersecurity solutions, including endpoint detection and response, threat intelligence, and compliance support, help businesses stay ahead of evolving risks.
• Managed IT Services: Thrive provides 24x7x365 monitoring, proactive support, and automation-driven IT management to ensure continuous operations and minimize downtime.
• Cloud & Infrastructure Optimization: Thrive’s cloud solutions help organizations modernize legacy systems, optimize workloads, and enhance IT resilience.

By continuously evolving their strategies and governance models, companies can remain resilient and adaptable in an ever-changing technological landscape. Download our latest Mid-Market Guide to Microsoft 365 Governance for more information on how to get started.

Contact Thrive to learn more about how your business can confidently navigate the complexities of technology strategy and governance, ensuring a secure, scalable, and future-ready IT environment.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, businesses need more than just visibility into security incidents; they need rapid, automated responses that mitigate risks before they escalate. That’s why Thrive is introducing an enhanced Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service for Microsoft 365 that delivers cutting-edge threat detection and auto-remediation capabilities.

Why Microsoft 365 Detection and Response Matters

Microsoft 365 is a cornerstone of modern business operations, but it also presents a significant attack surface for cybercriminals. Hackers and other threat actors are increasingly targeting SaaS environments, exploiting vulnerabilities in email, collaboration tools, and identity management systems. Traditional security information and event management (SIEM) solutions can identify suspicious activity but lack built-in mechanisms to respond in real-time. This gap leaves organizations vulnerable to breaches, data loss, and account takeovers.

Thrive’s Microsoft 365 Detection and Response

To strengthen Microsoft 365 security, Thrive enhanced its security platform with new capabilities to continuously monitor Microsoft 365 for anomalous activity, unauthorized access attempts, and potential security breaches. What sets Thrive’s service apart is its new auto-remediation feature, which proactively responds to identified threats in real time.

Thrive Microsoft 365 Detection and Response goes beyond simple threat detection. It enables automated protective actions, such as:

• Locking accounts exhibiting problematic behavior.
• Blocking access to compromised services.
• Restricting unauthorized attempts to modify security settings.

This automation significantly reduces response times, minimizing the window of exposure and mitigating risks before they cause harm. Thrive Security Operations Center (SOC) and support teams will then investigate and help get the compromised account back to secure state.

Migration and Availability

Starting in April, our existing O365/M365 Security Monitoring customers will be enabled with the new response capabilities. This transition will ensure they benefit from enhanced security automation and streamlined threat response. The new Microsoft 365 Detection and Response features will also be available as an add-on option for clients subscribed to EDR, MDR, and other Thrive security services.

The Thrive Advantage

Thrive’s security-first approach ensures businesses can operate with confidence in today’s evolving threat landscape. Our MDR services provide:

• 24×7 Threat Monitoring: Continuous oversight of Microsoft 365 environments to detect and respond to cyber threats.
• Automated Response & Remediation: Auto-remediation feature that proactively neutralizes security risks.
• Expert Security Guidance: Thrive’s cybersecurity professionals help organizations optimize their security strategy.
• Seamless Integration: Enhanced MDR services align with existing security infrastructure, including EDR and SIEM, for comprehensive protection.

Secure Your Microsoft 365 Environment Today

With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated, businesses can’t afford to rely on detection alone. Thrive’s MDR services provide real-time threat response and automation for Microsoft 365 environments, ensuring security teams stay ahead of attacks. Contact Thrive today to learn how you can strengthen your Microsoft 365 security with next-gen MDR capabilities.

Do You Know Your Weak Points? Why Every Business Needs a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

Cybersecurity threats are an unavoidable reality for businesses of all sizes. Today, protecting your IT environment requires more than just basic security measures. While most organizations understand the importance of fundamental cybersecurity practices, such as enforcing password policies and filtering out phishing emails, many remain unaware of critical security gaps that could leave them vulnerable to attacks. This is where a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment matters most to your business.

The Cybersecurity Basics Most Organizations Understand

Most businesses recognize the need for foundational cybersecurity practices. These include:

• Implementing Security Policies: Organizations generally enforce password management policies, requiring employees to use complex passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized access.
• Phishing Awareness & Email Filtering: Businesses typically educate their employees on identifying phishing emails, and many deploy email security solutions to filter out potentially malicious messages.
• Firewalls and Antivirus Software: Standard security measures are put in place, including firewalls and antivirus software, offering a baseline level of defense against known cyber threats.

While these are essential first steps, they are no longer enough to protect against modern cyber threats. Many businesses remain exposed to risks they may not fully understand or know how to address.

The Cybersecurity Threats Most Organizations Overlook

Despite best efforts, many organizations fail to account for deeper security challenges. Here are three critical risks that often go unnoticed:

1. Lack of Next-Gen Endpoint Protection

Traditional antivirus solutions are able to detect known malware, but they often struggle against advanced cyber threats that use sophisticated tactics to evade signature-based detection. Next-gen endpoint protection employs artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioral analytics to detect suspicious activity before it leads to a security breach. Without advanced protection, organizations are highly vulnerable to ransomware, zero-day exploits, and fileless malware attacks.

2. Over-Reliance on a Single Point Solution

Many businesses adopt a single security tool or platform and assume they are fully protected. However, a robust cybersecurity framework requires a multi-layered approach. Relying solely on firewalls, antivirus software, or email filtering leaves organizations exposed to threats that are able to circumvent these defenses. A comprehensive strategy should integrate network monitoring, endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM), and proactive threat intelligence.

3. Lack of Evidence-Based Cyber Policy Review

Having a cybersecurity policy in place is one thing, but ensuring it is effective through continuous review is another. Organizations often neglect to conduct regular security assessments, leaving them blind to potential vulnerabilities. Without documented evidence of security measures and periodic evaluations, businesses may struggle with compliance requirements, incident response planning, and regulatory audits.

Thrive’s Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

Why a Risk Assessment is Critical

A cybersecurity risk assessment is a systematic process that identifies, evaluates, and addresses potential security risks. It provides a clear picture of an organization’s security posture and helps prioritize risk mitigation strategies.

A thorough risk assessment includes:

• Identifying critical assets and evaluating their vulnerabilities
• Assessing potential threats and their likelihood of occurrence
• Analyzing existing security measures and identifying gaps
• Providing actionable recommendations to enhance cybersecurity resilience

The Danger of Gaps in Perspective

One of the biggest cybersecurity challenges businesses face is the inability to recognize what they don’t know. Without a comprehensive assessment, organizations may believe they have adequate security measures in place while unknowingly leaving themselves exposed.

Common gaps include:

• Assuming compliance equals security: Meeting regulatory standards does not necessarily mean an organization is secure.
• Failing to test defenses: Security policies and tools need to be regularly tested through penetration testing and red team exercises.
• Neglecting insider threats: Employees, whether malicious or negligent, can pose significant risks to data security.

The Cost of Cybersecurity Negligence

Ignoring security gaps can have severe consequences for businesses, including:

• Financial Losses: Cyberattacks can lead to costly downtime, legal fines, and reputational damage.
• Data Breaches: A single breach can compromise sensitive customer and business data, leading to legal liability and loss of customer trust.
• Regulatory Penalties: Organizations failing to meet cybersecurity regulations face fines and restrictions.
• Operational Disruptions: Cyber incidents can bring business operations to a standstill, causing missed opportunities and productivity losses.

The Benefits of Identifying and Addressing Security Gaps

Conducting a cybersecurity risk assessment and addressing security gaps offer numerous advantages:

• Enhanced Security Posture: Identifying weaknesses allows organizations to implement stronger security controls.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to industry regulations helps avoid penalties and improves trust.
• Cost Savings: Preventing cyber incidents is far less expensive than responding to a breach.
• Improved Incident Response: A well-prepared organization can quickly detect, contain, and remediate security threats.

Understanding the limitations of traditional security practices, investing in next-generation endpoint protection, adopting a comprehensive security approach, and conducting regular risk assessments are essential for businesses to safeguard critical assets. By identifying and closing security gaps, organizations can protect themselves from costly cyber incidents and ensure long-term resilience in the digital age.

Stay ahead of emerging threats—download the Gartner Top Trends in Cybersecurity for 2025 report to discover the key strategies shaping the future of cybersecurity.

Digital transformation is a widely used term, but what does it actually mean? Digital transformation is the rewiring of an organization with the goal of creating value by continuously deploying tech at scale. It’s not just about upgrading systems—it’s about fundamentally reimagining how an organization operates through technology.
However, a successful digital transformation strategy requires more than just implementing new tools. It needs a clear, compelling story to gain stakeholder buy-in and ensure alignment across teams. Here are some key steps to crafting that story.

What Is the Story You Are Telling?

Every transformation is a journey. What challenge are you solving? Are you modernizing legacy systems, improving customer engagement, or streamlining internal processes? Defining your transformation’s purpose helps shape a story that resonates.

A strong story also needs a “why.” Are you responding to shifting market demands, addressing inefficiencies, or future-proofing your business? Framing your transformation as a necessary step toward progress builds momentum and alignment.

How Well Do You Know Your Audience?

Your digital transformation impacts different groups in different ways. To gain support, your message should be tailored to each key audience:

• Employees: How will their day-to-day work improve?
• Customers: What tangible benefits will they experience?
• Executives and stakeholders: How does this transformation drive growth, efficiency, or competitive advantage?
  Understanding your audience ensures that your transformation story is both engaging and persuasive.

How Is Your Story Structured?

A great transformation story follows a clear and simple framework:
From → To → Because

This structure clearly illustrates the impact of your transformation:

• From: The current state, highlighting pain points and challenges.
• To: The desired future state, showing improvements and benefits.
• Because: The rationale behind the transformation, explaining why change is necessary.

Example:
From relying on outdated, manual processes that slow down operations.
To an automated, cloud-based system that improves efficiency and collaboration.
Because customer expectations are evolving, and we need to remain competitive.

Using this framework ensures your transformation journey is clear, logical, and compelling.

Identifying FABs: Turning Features into Business Benefits

A key part of telling your digital transformation story is clearly outlining the business benefits. One effective way to do this is by identifying FABs: Features, Advantages, and Benefits. This method ensures that your transformation efforts aren’t just focused on the technology itself but on how it directly impacts your business and its stakeholders.

Breaking Down FABs:

• Features: What new technologies or capabilities are being implemented?
• Advantages: How do these features improve existing processes or solve challenges?
• Benefits: What measurable business outcomes result from these improvements?

Example:
Let’s say your company is implementing a cloud-based data analytics platform.

• Feature: AI-powered real-time data analytics.
• Advantage: Faster insights into customer behavior and market trends.
• Benefit: Improved decision-making, increased revenue opportunities, and enhanced customer experience.

By framing digital transformation initiatives in terms of FABs, you can effectively communicate the tangible business value—not just the technical details. This approach helps stakeholders understand why the transformation matters and how it contributes to overall success.

How Are You Being Measured?

A successful transformation is about more than change; it’s about impact. Clear metrics help track progress and validate success. Consider measuring:

• Operational Efficiency: Has automation improved productivity and reduced manual work?
• Customer Satisfaction: Are customers seeing faster service, better engagement, or improved experiences?
• Financial ROI: Has the transformation led to cost savings, revenue growth, or increased profitability?
• Security & Compliance: Are data protection measures stronger? Have regulatory requirements been met?

Defining success metrics from the start helps ensure accountability and continuous business optimization.

Digital transformation isn’t just about technology, it’s about reshaping business processes by improving customer experiences, and staying ahead in a competitive market. Crafting a compelling, audience-focused, and structured transformation strategy, can drive buy-in, minimize resistance, and maximize success. Contact Thrive to learn more about how we can partner with you to start your digital transformation journey, today.