CIO OPINION
With no one analysing all the information , a preventable hack can easily occur .
Filippo Cassini , Global Technical Officer , SVP of
Engineering , Fortinet
Are you responding at attacker speed or Zoom meeting speed ?
Most threat actors are using tools that are automated and execute at compute speed and if African enterprises respond at human , Zoom-meeting speed , they are in big trouble . African enterprises must have their remediation processes documented and ready to apply cybersecurity tools like SIEM , SOAR solutions , explains Filippo Cassini at Fortinet .
Increasingly , new laws and regulations are designed to help guide companies in structuring their cybersecurity strategies . For example , the US Securities and Exchange Commission , SEC has become very strict on what organisations have to report .
The European Union General Data Protection Regulation , GDPR and other regulations like the NIS 2 Directive , an EU legislative act that aims to compel a higher and common level of cybersecurity across all the organisations within the union , are driving structural changes in cybersecurity .
Ultimately , it all boils down to adhering to the rules to protect organisations and , by extension , citizens from cybercriminals .
From an executive vantage point , the central questions to be addressed are : Is my company safe ? Is my IT organisation doing a good job of protecting us ? And , as a leader , am I making sure we are doing what is required by the SEC , or the EU government , or whoever else is creating the regulations ?
Are we safe ?
Executives rely on their cybersecurity teams to give them an accurate and unvarnished view of the organisation ’ s security posture . When leadership asks , Are we safe ? the team needs to respond in a way that they can be easily understood and is honest .
Cybersecurity managers should frequently check the pulse of their networks . When they come upon a concern , they need to provide executives and board members with timely reports about attacks , threats , and indicators of compromise , IOCs .
42 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com