It’s become a common refrain in boardrooms, startup standups, and digital policy briefings alike: “Cybersecurity is mission-critical.” And it’s true. Enterprises adopted AI-powered threat detection tools, small businesses bought endpoint protection subscriptions, and industry experts praised the “zero trust” paradigm as the next big shift. It begs the question: If we’re investing more in cybersecurity than ever before, why does it still feel like we’re losing ground? What cybersecurity actually is—and what it isn’tAt its core, cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. But what we should mean is strengthening the relationships—between systems, departments, and decision-makers—so the tech can actually do its job.