Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A +
BHARAT MISTRY,
PRINCIPLE SECURITY
STRATEGIST AT
TREND MICRO
EDITOR’S QUESTION
COVID-19 has already forced major changes on organisations
around the world. CISOs have most likely been spending most
of their time in recent weeks trying to close any security gaps
in new remote working processes. The situation is still uncertain
which can make strategic planning a challenge. But the good news
is that with the right technologies and policies to hand, there’s no
reason why distributed workforces should drive significant new cyberrisk
for these organisations.
So, what does best practice security look like in a new era of
remote working? It must include endpoint monitoring or patch
and asset management tools, to generate visibility into all home
working machines and keep them updated and secure. If users
aren’t on corporate laptops, they should have endpoint security
vetted and enhanced if necessary. A whitelist of approved,
enterprise-grade video conferencing/collaboration platforms will
further reduce cyber-risk.
We often talk about employees remote working under lockdown,
but let’s not forget that most IT staff have to as well. That’s why
CISOs may want to migrate to virtual Security Operation Centre
(SOC) set-ups. In fact, this could be a new opportunity to create a
truly 24/7 operation that breaks free of the usual 9–5 constraints,
by using staff working across the globe. The only caveat is trust.
In the longer term, staff security training and awareness-raising
is essential. Real-world simulation exercises should be run during
lockdown for all remote working staff, using some of the latest
COVID-themed phishing lures spotted in the wild. Once staff are
finally allowed to return to their offices in greater numbers, a new
wave of training must begin.
Threat levels remain elevated as cybercriminals target distracted
employees and IT staff, and remote access infrastructure. That
could force CISOs to take a fresh look at security solutions that offer
greater automation and advanced capabilities like Machine Learning,
cross-domain correlation and data analytics. It’s about catching
threats faster, more effectively and potentially with fewer IT security
staff available to manage controls.
CISOs must drive home the message whenever they get the chance
– that information security is a business-wide responsibility and
not just in the IT department’s sphere of influence. That means
security budget should be considered outside the normal IT budget.
Depending on organisational culture, this may be a difficult sell. But
the events of recent weeks present an opportunity to articulate how
important technology is to ongoing business operations – and how, if
mismanaged, security issues can have a huge impact on
business risk. •
“
CISOS MUST DRIVE
HOME THE MESSAGE
WHENEVER THEY GET
THE CHANCE – THAT
INFORMATION SECURITY
IS A BUSINESS-WIDE
RESPONSIBILITY
AND NOT JUST IN
THE IT DEPARTMENT’S
SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.
THAT MEANS SECURITY
BUDGET SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED OUTSIDE
THE NORMAL IT BUDGET.
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