FINAL WORD
In short – we must learn to think of cyber
security as a potential profit centre.
Let’s consider Elisha Otis. An American
industrialist and founder of Otis Elevator
Company, Otis pioneered the safety
apparatus that stops elevators from
falling if the hoisting cable snaps. For
developers, adopting Otis’s safety device
was not a cost, but instead an investment
that allowed them to build higher. This
invention enabled modern buildings
to climb skyward, maximising the use
of space, efficiently moving goods and
people, and giving a new and bolder
outline to our modern cityscapes.
A recent spate of high-profile cyber
security breaches that are publicised on
an almost daily basis are helping to raise
awareness of the scale of the threats.
Given this heightened cyber crime
environment, it is fair to expect to see a
greater number of entities in financial,
health, and utility sectors, which have
been targeted by attacks, raising their
cyber security capabilities to protect the
data for which they are responsible. The
main reason being because it is simply
costing them too much every time they
are breached, not just in budget terms,
RABIH DABBOUSSI
Senior Vice President of
Sales, Marketing & Business
Development, DarkMatter
B
y viewing cyber security as a
cost centre, many companies
simply implement the bare
minimum standards to tick a compliance
box. This line of thinking unfortunately
compromises an organisation’s defensive
posture, and is a self-inhibitor to long-
term business success.
As digital transformation touches and
transforms every sector of business,
making the world a smaller and more
connected place, we fully recognise its
potential to unleash growth and spawn
new and diverse opportunities. As we
become increasingly connected, our cyber
threat surface expands, which presents an
existential risk to organisations as cyber
criminals become more agile and adept.
Digital innovation can drive an
organisation to new heights, though
should it be implemented prematurely
or be based off insufficiently secured
infrastructure, it may turn out to be more
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INTELLIGENTCIO
A RECENT SPATE OF HIGH-PROFILE CYBER
SECURITY BREACHES THAT ARE PUBLICISED ON
AN ALMOST DAILY BASIS ARE HELPING TO RAISE
AWARENESS OF THE SCALE OF THE THREATS. GIVEN
THIS HEIGHTENED CYBER CRIME ENVIRONMENT,
IT IS FAIR TO EXPECT TO SEE A GREATER NUMBER
OF ENTITIES IN FINANCIAL, HEALTH, AND UTILITY
SECTORS, WHICH HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY
ATTACKS, RAISING THEIR CYBER SECURITY
CAPABILITIES TO PROTECT THE DATA FOR WHICH
THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE
of an organisational risk than a business
opportunity. And to leverage innovation,
the requirement to safeguard this new
digital environment is paramount. It is
crucial for an organisation’s stakeholders
to learn to view expenditure on
protecting their digital environment as
an investment, rather than a cost.
but also – and perhaps more importantly
– in terms of their reputation.
The best safeguard to digital infrastructure
is the adoption of an end-to-end cyber
security framework that instils peace-
of-mind, and inspires the confidence to
innovate, to take calculated business risks
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