Integrating Security for Business Growth

Maybe around five years ago, banking activity like opening a bank account, you have to do it in person, physically in the bank itself. However, by utilizing various technologies and implementing various security controls, a lot of banks can give you services to open a bank account digitally, using only your phone. Thus, we can see that the development of security technology can also widen business possibilities.

Can you share your experiences from a successful cybersecurity initiative you led?

One of my main objectives in building a cyber security program is, becoming part of the business itself. Oftentimes, security is only a stopper at the end of the process, a necessary process to comply with regulatory requirements, and is not involved in a lot of the business aspects. We just came and did our stuff, and that’s it. Currently, my team is integrated into various internal product development processes. We not only come and join to do pen-testing but we are continuously involved in their product ideation, development and testing. We can have end-to-end visibility on what the business is doing and can plan accordingly. By doing this, we can become one of the business enablers. We can enable businesses to thrive securely, especially in highly regulated industries like the financial industry. So, we are not slowing them down by adding security to their plate; we make them faster by tackling security issues as early as possible.

Can you share some key do's and don'ts for professionals in positions comparable to yours in other Cyber Security roles, based on your experience?

For me, there are three crucial understanding that you need to have or do: 1.Understand your business. Cybersecurity is a business enabler. You have to understand your business. This will also help you to plan and implement security controls that suit your needs.
2.Understand your peers. Again, we are an enabler. You can shove security standards down their throat, and maybe they’ll do it. But you have to watch their every step. Once there is a chance of not doing it, they will not do it.
Make sure they understand you. As I said, they might do it when you force them to, and you’ll have to watch their every step, but if you help them understand that ‘cyber security is everybody's objective. We are just the navigators helping them navigate safely.’ They will automatically think about security in everything they do.

Is there a particular technology trend in cybersecurity that you find especially exciting, and if so, what is it and why?

AI adoption. AI is being adopted massively in everything. Everything has AI in it now. It is a challenge now to think about data safety and privacy when trying to build your own model. Fraud and Attacks are becoming unique and harder to detect using AI technology. I'm excited to see how cybersecurity solution providers will utilize this technology to enhance more of the current solution offerings in the market.