Brandon Pinzon
Guest Blogger and CISO
A leader at the forefront of AI and data security innovation, Brandon Pinzon is an entrepreneur, experienced Chief Security Officer, Risk Executive, and Privacy Professional. He leverages over 20 years of experience across technology, banking, and insurance.
As a CISO, I’ve learned that true cyber resilience isn’t just about having the latest security tools. It’s about building strong relationships—especially with our legal partners and General Counsel. Cyber threats are no longer distant possibilities; they are immediate dangers. With ransomware attack timelines shrinking from 60 days in 2019 to just four days today, we’re in a sprint, not a marathon.
Understanding “Left of Boom”
“Left of Boom” is a military term that has become a cybersecurity battle cry. It means preparing before disaster strikes rather than scrambling in its aftermath. This shift in strategy is critical, as demonstrated by recent cyber incidents.
Take the 2023 23andMe cyber breach, a credential stuffing attack compromised approximately 6.9 million users’ data. 23andMe agreed to a proposed $30 million settlement to resolve lawsuits and faces potential regulatory fines, including a £4.59 million intent to fine from the UK’s ICO. The breach led to significant reputational damage, a plummeting stock price, and increased operational costs for security enhancements and notifications, ultimately contributing to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in March 2025 due to mounting legal liabilities and decreased user trust. Reactive responses—”Right of Boom”—are costly, chaotic, and damaging.
Moving Left: A CISO’s Playbook for Legal Harmony
Historically, security and legal teams have operated in silos—security focused on defense, legal on cleanup. But “Left of Boom” requires weaving cyber resilience into our legal DNA, easing the burden on legal teams so they aren’t constantly firefighting. Here’s my playbook for success, the introduction of a Holistic Cyber Event Platform:
- Always-On Readiness: AI-driven analysis to continuously scan and address potential defects or weaknesses within incident management plans before they can hinder effective response and resolution.
- Dynamic Incident Playbooks: Transitioning from static plans to real-time, guided response frameworks.
- Preemptive Incident Response Testing: Regular simulations to identify vulnerabilities and refine response strategies before facing a real attack.
- Cyber Crisis Training for Legal Teams: Legal and executive teams must be trained on cyber risk scenarios, response strategies, and regulatory pitfalls.
BreachRx: Giving Legal Teams Their Time Back
One of the biggest challenges for legal teams is the time-consuming nature of reacting to cyber incidents, managing compliance obligations, and handling regulatory fallout. A proactive approach, powered by tools like BreachRx, changes the game by:
- Automating incident response execution: Reducing last-minute scrambling under pressure.
- Mapping out legal response scenarios: Ensuring legal teams have predefined actions ready to deploy.
- Running realistic cyber drills: Helping teams practice responses in a risk-free environment.
- Providing real-time regulatory guidance: Keeping organizations ahead of compliance challenges instead of reacting post-breach.
With BreachRx, legal teams transform from crisis responders into strategic advisors, minimizing legal exposure while strengthening overall cyber resilience.
The Bottom Line: Collaboration is Key
The days of cyber insurance as a last-resort safety net are over. Citing a 2024 report by NetDiligence analyzing incident costs: across 10,464 claims from 2019–2023, costs range from less than $1,000 to over $500M, revealing that proactive security measures can provide a clear demonstration of reduced risk to Cyber Insurers and move “Left of Boom fostering opportunities for strategic partnerships and potentially more favorable insurance premiums.
In today’s fast-paced threat landscape, “Left of Boom” is no longer optional—it’s essential for survival. By forging strong partnerships between CISOs, General Counsel, and security teams, and leveraging proactive tools like BreachRx, organizations can:
- Reduce financial and legal risks
- 12 claims reported legal costs, with an overall average of $25.7M.
- The highest settlement in the dataset was over $500M.
- Average legal defense cost: $747K.
- The only regulatory fine in the dataset was $21M.
- Ensure business continuity
- Ransomware & Business Email Compromise: These were the top causes of loss, with ransomware demands reaching up to $80M and payments as high as $50M.
- Crisis Services: Includes breach response, forensics, and PR. The average cost for Small to Mid Enterprises was $96K, while for large companies, it was $2.0M.
- Recovery Expenses: The cost of recovering from cyber incidents has risen, particularly for ransomware victims.
- Strengthen cybersecurity resilience
- Cyber insurance is crucial in covering these costs, as payouts cover 47% of total incident costs.
- Most importantly, we give our legal allies the time and resources they need to navigate the complex regulatory landscape with confidence while knowing that when an incident arises, they will arrive prepared.
Cyber resilience is more than technology; it’s a collaborative effort that directly reduces risk. Recognizing that legal expenses are a primary driver of cyber insurance claim costs, we strategically focus on minimizing these losses. I appreciate the BreachRx approach that emphasizes demonstrable incident response preparedness and a secure, collaborative environment for legal teams and incident responders to communicate effectively during critical events.