Cybersecurity has evolved from a niche threat to a core business strategy
When we studied innovation, markets, and business strategy last year in the Oxford Executive Diploma in Strategy and Innovation programme, one of the most powerful takeaways was this: what begins as a niche often becomes mainstream, if the market reveals a clear and growing willingness to pay. Whether it’s a pioneering startup that serves an overlooked need or a nascent technology that gradually gains traction, the early adopters shape the trajectory for broader acceptance and eventual industry transformation.
In retrospect, the very same logic applies, albeit in a darker mirror, to the rise of cybercrime. What was once an obscure domain of underground actors and anonymous forums has grown into a fully-fledged economy complete with pricing models, service guarantees, user reviews, affiliate programs, and innovation cycles. The dark web is no longer just a place; it's a market. And if there’s one thing we learned at Oxford, it's that no market legal or illicit should be ignored when its scale, impact, and growth begin to rival legitimate industries.
From nascent nuisance to strategic necessity
A few years ago, cybersecurity might have been considered an IT department concern a checkbox under compliance, a routine audit task, or a post-incident PR talking point. Today, it's become a core pillar of enterprise strategy. Why? Because the scale and sophistication of cyberattacks have evolved in lockstep with the digital transformation of global business.
Just as early-stage innovations begin in small, often overlooked markets, cybercrime has mirrored this trajectory. It began with isolated breaches and low-level hacks. But as businesses migrated to the cloud, adopted remote work, and pushed digital boundaries in pursuit of growth and innovation, attackers professionalized. Now, cybercrime operates at a systemic level. It doesn’t just disrupt. It destroys business models, compromises years of intellectual property development, and triggers repetitional and regulatory fallout that can set companies back for years.
In our Oxford coursework, we discussed how value creation is often accompanied by a parallel willingness to pay, leading to profitable market creation. This principle holds true not only for legitimate businesses but also for cybercriminal enterprises. The rise of Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) exemplifies this shift. Today’s threat actors no longer need to write their own code or even understand how to infiltrate a network. Instead, they can purchase ready-made services such as Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS), Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), or Access-as-a-Service (AaaS).
Each of these offers tailored pricing, dashboards for tracking infections, customer support, and tutorials often indistinguishable from legitimate SaaS platforms. The barriers to entry are lower than ever, and the returns, sadly, are high.
A market with scarcity until It's stolen
One of the core principles we studied at Oxford is the role of scarcity in defining value. Intellectual property, proprietary algorithms, strategic plans these are scarce by design. Their uniqueness confers a competitive edge. But in the world of cybercrime, that scarcity can be eradicated in seconds.
When attackers steal R&D data or business strategies and leak them either by selling them to rivals, dumping them on Telegram, or listing them on dark web forums the advantage is gone. In some cases, even a whisper that a company’s confidential plans were exposed is enough to sink negotiations, spook investors, or give competitors the upper hand. The modern enterprise must now ask: how much is our competitive edge worth and what are we doing to protect it?
This redefines cybersecurity from a technical issue to a strategic asset defense mechanism. It’s no longer just about firewalls and endpoint protection. It’s about preserving the very DNA of your company your innovation pipeline, your product strategy, your brand reputation, and your customer trust.
The logic is simple: You can’t win the future if you can’t protect it.
The business model of cybercrime
In our Oxford sessions, we explored how markets are formed not only by supply and demand but also by user behavior, frictionless access, and economic incentives. The dark web, as a business ecosystem, meets all these conditions. There’s demand—from state-sponsored actors, hacktivists, competitors, and opportunistic criminals. There’s supply—from developers of malicious tools, brokers of stolen credentials, and insiders willing to leak information.
The friction to participate has been drastically reduced. Cryptocurrency enables anonymous payments. Hosting is decentralized. Tools are modular and user-friendly. And the economics? Devastatingly compelling. A $50 investment in a phishing kit or initial access broker can lead to millions in ransom or exfiltrated data.
Just as we studied in cases about disruptive innovation and the long tail, cybercrime has moved from artisanal hacking to scalable, mass-market operations. And this reality demands a strategic response—not just a technical one.
Cyber resilience as competitive advantage
The natural question for executives, then, is: what do we do?
The answer lies in shifting from cybersecurity as a defensive cost center to cyber resilience as a strategic differentiator. Forward-looking companies are already embedding cybersecurity into their innovation lifecycle, M&A due diligence, brand management, and digital customer experience design.
Consider this: in a world where breaches are expected, companies that show resilience—not just in prevention, but in response build trust faster. Cyber-aware firms close partnerships more smoothly, especially in regulated industries. They retain customers who value transparency and responsibility. And perhaps most importantly, they move faster. Why? Because they’ve built security into the core of their operations, not as an afterthought.
Much like the early startups we discussed in our Oxford modules those that found a niche and dominated it companies that get cybersecurity right today are staking out a leadership position in what will soon be an expected standard of business conduct.
A mindset shift
It’s worth noting that this is not just a tech upgrade it’s a mindset shift. Companies need to think like attackers understanding adversaries’ business models helps identify where the organisation is most vulnerable. It is also crucial to integrate cybersecurity into innovation new products, platforms, and processes should incorporate threat modeling and data protection from the outset. Organisation must recognise reputation as a digital asset rebuilding trust after a breach is costly, while proactive protection is far more economical. Finally, cybersecurity must be engaged at the board level cyber risk is a board-level issue, and leaders must be equipped to understand and act on it.
As we learned at Oxford, the firms that dominate tomorrow are those that see around the corner today. In a world where cybercrime has industrialised, ignoring it is not just naive it is strategically reckless.
The new Strategic frontier
If we accept that innovation and disruption begin in the margins before reshaping entire industries, then we must also accept that cybercrime once relegated to the periphery is now a dominant force in shaping risk, opportunity, and trust.
The logic is simple: You can’t win the future if you can’t protect it.
Cybersecurity is no longer an IT department’s job. It’s a business strategy imperative. And just like product innovation or customer experience, it must be designed, funded, and measured accordingly.
As we learned from the Oxford Strategy and Innovation program, strategy is about making choices in the face of uncertainty. The choice to treat cybersecurity as central not peripheral may be the most important strategic decision a company can make this decade.
Find out more about the Oxford Executive Diploma in Strategy and Innovation programme.
