GO phish
A lot of doing cybersecurity well is getting the basic building blocks in place , so although some regions are more advanced than others , the principles remain the same . properly since I was a teen , I have taken up golf again , with limited success so far .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
Possibly taking more entrepreneurial risks when I was younger . I think you have a lot of opportunities to take more risks in your early 20s , and although I joined the army , I could have perhaps done something more entrepreneurial earlier in my career . I am making up for it now though .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in the cybersecurity industry ?
I ’ ve mentioned AI , but what we are looking into at Crossword is how AI can streamline , automate and improve some of our current products and services . Generative AI excels in cybersecurity use cases that automate mundane activities and use cases that seek to address the cyberskills gap by acting as a ‘ co-pilot / intelligent assistant / teacher ’ to augment staff skills , knowledge and experience enabling security teams to be more productive and efficient . Therefore , it ’ s those use cases where we ’ ll see the most investment moving forward .
Are there any differences in the way cybersecurity challenges need to be tackled in the different regions ?
Yes , but a lot of doing cybersecurity well is getting the basic building blocks in place , so although some regions are more advanced than others , the principles remain the same . Doing the basics well should always be the first priority , and then as you bed in your teams , you begin to layer additional defences and improve training , culture and such . We also see a lot of companies , in many regions , spend money on technology that they do not fully understand and do not need , because they believe there is a silver bullet in addressing cybersecurity . This seems to be more prevalent in regions that are still developing capability .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
Given the pace of technological change , having an approach to how you are able to innovate , systematically , is becoming increasingly important . It is very easy to get caught up in the hype , invest a lot of money and then find a large company makes your technology redundant quite quickly . Taking a pragmatic approach to innovation and then understanding the right time to invest capital will be an essential skill over the next 12 months and beyond . This is directly applicable to how we advise our clients , so we are all facing similar challenges .
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in the security industry ?
Be useful . I think a lot of people assume you need to be superhuman to secure a C-Level position and although you do need to have developed a certain degree of experience and different skills , a lot of it is being known for getting things done . I think there is a famous Barack Obama quote where he more or less says , ‘ be known for getting things done .’ Having a good mentor is important , as is networking and helping other people achieve their own career ambitions .
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