GO PHISH
WE ‘ GO PHISHING ’ WITH GARETH WILLIAMS , VP OF THE SECURE COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS BUSINESS OF THALES , UK , WHO TELLS US ABOUT LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE .
wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the cybersecurity industry ?
Thales has undergone a massive transformation in the business over the last five years , in terms of both financial performance and reinventing its security
offers to the market . I ’ m immensely proud of this work and to watch the success of a new offer you helped create is incredibly rewarding . Knowing that we are keeping our clients secure and operating also gives you a great buzz .
What first made you think of a career in cybersecurity ?
I took a slightly unusual path to get to my current role as my background is in mechanical engineering and accountancy , and I worked in roles across the Engineering , Finance , Operations sectors . I have always been close to cybersecurity and information assurance though .
The marketing forming and beginning to grow gave Thales and myself the opportunity to help create a business and protect a lot of our clients who we were already working with . Cyber is also a market that is constantly evolving and changing , so I love the pace and sector .
As well as working here in the UK , I ’ ve worked internationally and have ran global operations for one of the Thales security businesses . All of these experiences have given me some great insight into understanding both the challenges and needs of a global client and have helped me see how you actually deliver and make it happen for customers . In addition , it gave me some great cultural insights and approaches to achieving transformation , so I guess it was the natural step for me to lead the business after this .
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
Self-development is important to me and something that I am always keen to instil in my team and new recruits .
While thinking about the bigger picture and speaking to customers takes up a great deal of my day , I also know it ’ s important to continually learn about the latest technologies with the help of my teams so that I can give the best advice to our customers . Whether it ’ s the latest development in 5G mobile private networks or quantum encryption , it ’ s important to never stop studying . It ’ s essential for the future of the industry that we all develop new skills and highlight this possibility , as there is a real shortage
in the sector . I am continually looking for new ways to work with partners and even competitors to see what we can collectively do to make the sector more accessible for the future workforce .
What do you think is the current hot cybersecurity talking point ?
For Thales , it ’ s the growing challenge of securing Operational Technology ( OT ). It ’ s the new frontier . IT security has matured incredibly and is now moving towards automation and AI deployment to secure and protect assets and information . In Operational Technology , the design , deployment and operation is different in many ways from its purpose right through to its operational life , mission criticality and therefore , how you cyber protect it . Making sure it is cyber protected but also connecting it up to enable the Industrial IoT ( IIoT ) transformation happens for clients is complex and will also require new cybersecurity skills , www . intelligentciso . com
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