CyberWire Daily

The WhatsApp impostor.

Apr 2, 2026
Guest
Sumedh Thakar
Sumedh Thakar, President and CEO of Qualys, a leader in enterprise security and compliance, talks about reframing cybersecurity as business risk management. He outlines creating a Risk Operation Center to drive real remediation. He explores agentic AI as a force multiplier and the need for vendor guardrails and regulatory clarity.
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INSIGHT

Cybersecurity Is A Risk Management Exercise

  • Cybersecurity is fundamentally a business risk management exercise tied to potential financial loss.
  • Sumedh Thakar argues quantifyable loss drives how much you should spend on cyber and guides prioritization across changing technologies.
ADVICE

Prioritize Fixes That Reduce Maximum Loss

  • Focus remediation on fixes that reduce the most potential loss rather than chasing every detection.
  • Thakar recommends operationalizing a Risk Operation Center (ROC) to prioritize and drive actual fixes instead of dashboard generation.
INSIGHT

CISO Pain Is Proving Cyber ROI To Finance

  • CISOs' public priorities (AI, cloud, etc.) differ from their personal pain: convincing finance and the board of cyber ROI.
  • Thakar explains CISOs struggle to quantify risk reduction to justify budgets against competing lines like AI teams.
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