Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q + A + Q
ASMA ZUBAIR,
SENIOR MANAGER
OF IAST PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT
AT SYNOPSYS
EDITOR’S QUESTION
The pandemic has brought about an
uncertain business outlook for many
organisations. IT infrastructures
are overloaded, the organisational attack
surface has grown exponentially with
employees working remotely around the
globe and cyberattacks are on the rise.
The situation is further exacerbated
by widespread budget cuts that many
organisations are experiencing to
compensate for disrupted supply chains,
less-than-ideal Business Continuity efforts,
tightening profit margins, and a myriad
of other factors. Pair all of this with the
perpetual cyberskills gap our industry is
continuously working to resolve and we
have a perfect storm on our hands.
The cyberskills shortage is not a new
problem. Automation, cross-training of
employees in cybersecurity and willingness
to hire promising candidates who will
require on-the-job cybersecurity training
have been some of the tried and tested
methods that successful organisations
pursue to work around the cyberskills
shortage. Under current circumstances,
business leaders can take a few additional
steps to mitigate unique and hopefully
temporary challenges that the ongoing
pandemic presents.
Ensure IT infrastructure consistently
meets reliability, availability, serviceability
and security
requirements to
facilitate remote
work. Revisit and
enforce security
policies to ensure
the security of
your employees and customers, and the
privacy of data they handle. Protect your
data using reputable VPNs, deploy mobile
management solutions for data security on
mobile devices, test and patch applications
regularly and enable MFA with SSO for the
authentication and authorisation of users.
To get the most out of your budget,
consider consolidating vendors to negotiate
better discounts. Consolidation also brings
greater efficiency by reducing the user
learning curve (one tool vs. multiple tools)
and increasing productivity with platformcentric
solutions.
Until you have the budget to hire full-time
employees, also consider using managed
services to support your security needs.
Additionally, pay attention to running costs
and stay away from security tools that may
become a drain on user productivity.
COVID-19 has made remote work a more
widely acceptable practice, one that may
in fact allow organisations to hire remote
employees who may be better suited (in
terms of skills and compensation) than the
local talent pool. The onset of a remote
workforce may also compel organisations
to elevate their security measures and help
improve their overall security posture. Where
challenges are presented, there are also
opportunities to learn, grow and evolve. •
“
UNTIL YOU HAVE
THE BUDGET TO
HIRE FULL-TIME
EMPLOYEES,
ALSO CONSIDER
USING MANAGED
SERVICES TO
SUPPORT YOUR
SECURITY NEEDS.
www.intelligentcio.com
INTELLIGENTCIO
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