Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 22 | Page 72

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security “Decision-makers should think of it as a natural evolution from pure cybersecurity to a cyber resilience approach that is more of a methodology focusing on the measures and policies that need to be put in place to ensure continual business operations.” The traditional way of thinking about security is very much driven by the nuts and bolts of solutions. This results in the business losing sight of the larger organisational impact that malicious attacks could have on the success of the company. Cyber resilience represents a huge shift in the industry – one which is more geared towards managing risk. This entails all facets of data, from its security through to its backup and the business continuity measures put in place to resume operations in the event of a disaster (man-made or otherwise). Cyber resilience espouses a layered approach that incorporates the technology, the systems and processes, as well as the human resources within an organisation. In this way, security covers all the potential entry points into the organisation. This way of combating cybercrime is something that is integral to how security should be treated in the connected world. 72 INTELLIGENTCIO POWERED BY “Many companies are still using older, more traditional ways of looking at security without factoring in the risk component,” said Berndt. excuse. Similarly, no company (irrespective of industry or size) can afford not to have cybersecurity integrated into all facets of the organisation.” “Adding to this is an expanding C-suite with more specific corporate roles being introduced, such as the CSO and CDO that report to the CEO from a strategic perspective. In this environment, does the issues of risk and compliance only still form part of the CFO’s duties? Definitely not.” Cyber resilience requires a layered approach to be managed effectively. It is as much a technology problem that needs solving as it is a human one. Being cognisant of all the entry points into an organisation and how to deal with them, should be the foundation on which cyber resilience is built. Business education “It is imperative to embrace cyber resilience as a way of doing business if companies are to mitigate the risks that operating in a digital environment can bring,” added Berndt. Security has moved away from being purely one based on opportunities to become more of a functional environment where people are employed to conduct attacks. And thanks to the rise of cryptocurrency where there is less of a paper trail to track such payments, the likes of Bitcoin and others are enabling the hacking industry by getting them to incentivise people for attacks. “Decision-makers need to be educated about the importance of effective cybersecurity policies and solutions,” said Berndt. “In the digital business environment, ignorance can no longer be used as an “From ransomware to data corruption, phishing attacks to identify theft, the environment is a fast-paced one needing an integrated way to safeguard data. There is no choice but to accept it as a reality of doing business and embrace it wholeheartedly. Organisations need to think of risk as prevention, security and recovery if they are to remain effective and safeguard their data. More importantly, security is not purely about technology any longer but also about the people and processes. Cyber resilience helps with this.” n www.intelligentcio.com