Q & A
EDITOR ’ S
HOW CAN RESELLERS HELP THEIR CUSTOMERS TO REINFORCE THEIR ORGANISATION ’ S CYBERSECURITY ?
An unforeseeable shift in network structures and attack strategies has been dropped on the cybersecurity industry in the last two years . As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on organisations and individuals around the globe , the industry is now dealing with a threat landscape that ’ s become more intense , complex and saturated than ever before . Attackers are now more targeted toward the remote worker .
According to the FortiGuard ’ s latest threat landscape report , we have found that while ransomware attacks have always been a significant concern for businesses , over the past several months they ’ ve become more prevalent and costlier – both in terms of downtime and damages . Also , phishing tactics are now far more sophisticated and have evolved to target the weak links found at the Edges of business networks . Many attackers are also
As cyberattacks increase , they are being designed to access , delete or extort organisations ’ or users ’ sensitive data , making cybersecurity vital . Industry pundits share how resellers can help enterprises cement their cybersecurity posture .
Organisations in the Middle East and Africa region have witnessed a significant increase in cyberattacks across industries – some of which have caused financial and reputational losses . Businesses have certainly ramped up their security spending as the drive towards digitisation gathers speed and the threat landscape continues to evolve at an even rapid pace .
ALAIN PENEL , REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT – MIDDLE EAST , FORTINET
using Machine Learning to rapidly craft , test and distribute messages with increasingly realistic visual content that triggers emotional distress in recipients .
Cyber criminals have also grown to understand technology better and have access to more sophisticated resources than they had in the past , making the task of protecting distributed resources more challenging than ever . Through the use of AI and Machine Learning tools , for example , cybercriminals are taking full advantage of the expanding attack surface and successfully bypassing traditional safeguards . Because of these advances in attack methods and technologies , IT teams are now struggling to stay ahead of things like updated ransomware and phishing threats that are being leveraged to compromise at-home IoT devices .
The role of the CIO or CISO is rapidly changing in many organisations . There is not a business strategy in organisations that does not involve some technology aspect and digital innovation ( DI ) is often the primary ingredient underlying the business initiative . The CIO is no longer an operational executive , but an orchestration executive . In a rapidly evolving marketplace , creating new approaches to product development , customer engagement and operations can mean the difference between success and failure for the company .
As a result of the COVID-19 crisis , CIOs and CISOs were put under incredible pressure to maintain Business Continuity with almost 100 % of the workforce working from home , in just a couple of days . Many successful approaches that we have seen are based on a careful analysis of existing capabilities , so that instead of rushing to add new technologies they leveraged the potential of the solutions already in place . The beauty of revisiting what organisations have in light of business imperatives , is that you end up asking the right questions about what processes , data and apps are truly crucial to maintain business . This healthy reaction created some fruitful moments and consequently harmonised security practices across the branches , the core , and cloudbased infrastructures .
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 45 51