In today’s threat-heavy environment, cybersecurity isn’t just a technology concern — it’s a business priority. Yet many organisations still face a costly disconnect: technology and business leaders often assess cyber vulnerabilities through entirely different lenses.

The Risk Language Barrier

At the core of this misalignment is an understanding gap. Security teams use technical metrics — like CVSS scores or exploitability — to assess threats. These metrics are the same for all organisations with similar infrastructure. But these metrics lack the business context for each unique organisation, making it difficult for both technology and business stakeholders to grasp what’s truly at risk for their operating models.

A CISO might flag a critical CVE, but if its connection to a revenue-generating system or key service isn’t understood, technical teams or even business leaders may deprioritise it — not out of indifference, but through lack of better understanding.

Misaligned Priorities = Misallocated Resources

This gap has consequences. When vulnerabilities are prioritised without business context, organisations may focus on technically severe issues with minimal business impact — while overlooking lower-severity risks that threaten operations, customer trust, or compliance.

If the CISO and CFO define “critical” differently, resources end up solving the wrong problems.

The Case for Quantification with Context

Bridging this gap requires more than scanning — it means quantifying cyber risks in terms of business impact. That means linking vulnerabilities to:

• The systems and applications they affect
• The business processes behind those systems
• The potential cost of compromise
• When technical findings are framed as revenue loss, regulatory fines, or reputational damage, business leaders listen — and align.

Collaboration Is Critical

Quantification is key, but so is collaboration. Security teams should involve operations, finance, product, and compliance in regular vulnerability reviews — not just incident response. This ensures risk is viewed and understood through a shared lens.

Final Thoughts

Cybersecurity can’t live in silos — and neither can vulnerability management. As threats grow and expectations rise, the cost of misalignment is too high.

To move forward, organisations must adopt a shared risk language that blends technical precision with business relevance. Only then can they turn vulnerability management into a truly strategic function.