EXPERT OPINION
It ’ s time for a new wave of collaboration in cybersecurity
Collaboration between security teams and also on a more wider scale – between organisations – is key to fostering a strong cybersecurity culture and tackling sophisticated cyberthreats . Neil Thacker , CISO EMEA , Netskope , explores this further and discusses the importance of collaboration in reducing the time between new threat discovery and protection implementation which allows organisations to keep up with the ever-evolving threat landscape .
Neil Thacker , CISO EMEA , Netskope ollaboration has
C always been integral to combatting cybercrime . Crime does not respect international borders so nation states cannot operate in silos ; they must work together to share information and best practices if they are to give themselves the best chance of identifying and resisting threats as they emerge .
Despite this , geo-political events have in recent years cast uncertainty around long established methods of collaboration . For example , up until 2015 state-level involvement was becoming increasingly integrated and constructive . However , Brexit placed a hurdle in UK / EU cross-border collaboration and the
International Safe Harbour and Privacy Shield frameworks between EU and US were deemed invalid by the ECJ .
Despite these challenges , the appetite for working together is still strong among security professionals . At Web Summit in 2019 , Michel Barnier from the European Commission urged attendees to collaborate in tackling cyberthreats : ‘ Our new partnership should include the exchange of information on cyber incidents , attackers ’ techniques , threat analysis and best practice , including when those target the correct functioning of democratic systems . Crucially , we need to have capacity to respond jointly to such attacks ’.
It ’ s not just security professionals that are keen to join forces , threat actors also thrive when working together . In instances when government agencies manage to flip cybercriminals , the intelligence they provide suggests that there is a vast network of recruiters , programmers , hosting providers and distributors ; all working towards one common goal .
The power of collaboration
Collaboration comes in many forms , with the exchange of information being just one of the many examples . As cybersecurity professionals , there are three things we can all do to be more collaborative : we can work better with our colleagues in nontech departments ; we can form better connections with our peers from other organisations ; and we can insist upon www . intelligentciso . com
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