5 Questions Every CISO Should Ask About Pre-Attack Prevention

Category: Concepts & Methodology

1. Are we seeing intent before impact?

Are we still relying on Indicators of Compromise that surface only after execution begins? Do our defenses detect Indicators of Pre-Attack (IoPAs) - such as malicious domain registrations, hosting activity, or cloned assets - while the attacker is still setting up?

2. Can we find and dismantle the infrastructure attackers build against us?

Do we have the capability to validate and dismantle it before it becomes operational? Are we continuously monitoring for adversary infrastructure tied to our brand, partners, or assets?

3. Are we defending at AI attacker speed?

Are we using automation and correlation to act at machine time, not human time? What is our Mean Time to Preempt (MTTP)?

4. Are we turning signals into predictive intelligence?

Do we distinguish between noise and true adversary intent fast enough to take pre-emptive action?

5. Do we own a pre-attack response plan?

Do we have clear playbooks for takedowns, domain suspensions, and early interdiction actions before an attack launches? Who in our organization owns pre-attack prevention: SOC, threat intel, or a dedicated readiness function?

Updated on: 26/02/2026