Trade the Comfort of Security Theater for True Security

**Executive summary:** This commentary argues that many organizational cybersecurity efforts amount to "security theater"—performative, checklist-driven measures that create the illusion of security but fail to mitigate real business, legal, and financial risk—and urges C-suite leaders and boards to replace comfort-driven practices with risk-based, evolving security programs that plan for compromise and prioritize substantive defense and accountability.