Return on Security

Your weekly 5-minute briefing on the cybersecurity market, providing key trends and analysis. The business of the cyber industry with zero fluff.

Featured Posts

Deep Dive

Governing the Ungovernable: Why AI Governance is the Blueprint for Everything Else

Apr 15, 2026

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10 min read

Governing the Ungovernable: Why AI Governance is the Blueprint for Everything Else

Traditional risk management is failing in the AI era. Discover why AI governance requires a strategic shift from static checklists to real-time orchestration, and how this new framework becomes the blueprint for the future of all corporate governance.

Mike Privette

Annual Review

2025 State of the Cybersecurity Market: $25B Funding, $76B M&A, and What's Next

Feb 6, 2026

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47 min read

2025 State of the Cybersecurity Market: $25B Funding, $76B M&A, and What's Next

The cybersecurity market recovered in 2025, but not evenly. Inside: who won, who got acquired, and what 2026 holds for founders, buyers, and investors.

Mike Privette

Guides

Trust Engineering: Building Security Leadership at Early-Stage Startups

Jun 18, 2025

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5 min read

Trust Engineering: Building Security Leadership at Early-Stage Startups

How to lead security at early-stage startups by building trust, driving growth, and aligning security with business priorities.

Mike Privette

Guides

The AI Security Shared Responsibility Model

Aug 2, 2024

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12 min read

The AI Security Shared Responsibility Model

Learn about the AI Security Shared Responsibility Model, a framework for managing risks and ensuring compliance in AI deployments.

Mike Privette

Guides

Feb 14, 2025

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7 min read

Never Waste a Good Compliance Framework

Companies pay for compliance but want security. Smart teams leverage compliance as a strategic tool to drive security improvements and business growth.

Mike Privette

Point of View

Nov 5, 2025

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5 min read

The AI Security Absorption Has Begun

Three years of funding data reveal AI Security represents just 9% of cybersecurity deals and 3% of funding. We're not witnessing a revolution. We're watching absorption into existing security categories, just as cloud security was before it.

The weekly economic brief for cybersecurity operators, founders, and investors. The funding, M&A, and category movement that actually moved the industry from the week of May 11th, 2026.

Mike Privette