Recently, Uber had a major cybersecurity incident. The hacker was able to gain access to everything, including their Amazon Web Service administrator account. This could have been really bad. Given Uber’s revenue was $17 billion (with a B) in 2021, that means – $48 million worth of revenue would have been lost a day if the hacker had shut the servers down! Imagine all those Uber drivers not being able to drive and everyday passengers getting stuck everywhere.

Unfortunately, cybersecurity defenses are not infallible. You can have all the firewalls, virtual private networks, two factor authentication tools and other security mechanisms in the world but you are still going to fail. Why? The weakest link is always human.

A good cybersecurity program must be quick to adapt. I like to use Bruce Lee’s “Be like Water” philosophy to help think through this.

This is what he said:

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” Even toughest rocks can crack through repeated hitting. However, when you hit ocean water with the biggest weapon you have, it will not be damaged in any way.

That’s how cyber defenses should be – shapeless and formless. That often boils down to good training plus simulated attacks for your employees and A.I. to help along the way. Set-and-forget will never work.