Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 08 | Page 37

FEATURE: CYBER SECURITY ABOUT Harshul Joshi is Senior Vice President of Governance, Risk & Compliance at DarkMatter. He previously ran Salesforce’s global Security Governance programme working with regulators from the USA, Germany, France, Hong Kong, and Australia. Harshul is also the Global ISO 27007 Editor and was part of US delegation to ISO SC27. HARSHUL JOSHI Senior Vice President of Governance, Risk & Compliance at DarkMatter IT’S A SIMPLE TRUTH THAT YOU CAN’T PROTECT WHAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND; A THOROUGH AUDIT IS VITAL AT THE START OF ANY MITIGATION PROCESS. SOPHISTICATED MAPPING SOFTWARE CAN CERTAINLY ACCELERATE THIS PROCESS, BUT ULTIMATELY A COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT REQUIRES PEOPLE ON THE GROUND TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND FIND THE LOCATION OF SERVERS AND ACCESS RIGHTS www.intelligentcio.com assumed that we can no longer view cyber security as simply a niche activity of interest only to intelligence services and the IT departments of multi-nationals. Over the next decade cyber security is going to become an issue for everyone, and unlike traditional security functions provided by the state, maintaining cyber safety has to be devolved to the level of the individual. Digitisation is a fantastic opportunity for nations to make citizens safer; for companies to become more efficient and successful; and for individuals to live more fulfilling and happier lives. However, the increased threat surface as a result of the growth in instrumentation, intelligence and interconnectivity is clear and present, and needs to be managed so as not to undermine the gains from digital transformation. There are simply too many servers connected to the web to entrust cyber security solely to state enforcement bodies. This is not a counsel for despair but a call to raise awareness and educate the population about their responsibilities in keeping themselves safe from attack. It’s going to be a challenging time ahead, but with the right planning, commitment to innovation and sensible practices, nations, companies, and individuals can effectively mitigate cyber security attacks. If smart watches contain more processing power than a 1970s supercomputer, it can safely be At DarkMatter we believe in the what; so what; and now what approach to cyber security. INTELLIGENTCIO 37