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News & Views

Reset security, says Infosec poll
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The need to reset and reinforce security posture will be 2021’s key themes says Infosecurity Europe’s leader community (www.infosecurityeurope.com), when Europe’s number one information security event asked its network of CISOs and analysts to comment on the major trends and changes they foresee shaping the next 12 months.  

As the full consequences of 2020’s rapid changes become apparent, companies expect to focus on consolidating and reinforcing their security posture, in a world that that Maxine Holt, Senior Research Director at Omdia, is calling “the reset normal”.

“From a security perspective, it’s been difficult to maintain pace with the speed of change.  COVID-19 accelerated cloud journeys, for instance, and security was at best an afterthought,” says Holt.  “Security functions applied temporary measures, and they will now peel back the sticking plaster and build more sustainable security for new ways of working.  This should include upskilling staff in cloud security expertise, and looking at technology that can prevent, detect and respond to security incidents in these evolved environments.”

“I’d like to see companies buckle down on the ‘foundations of security’, moving into an era of never-before-seen strength on the frontline fight against cyber threats,” comments Becky Pinkard, CISO, Aldermore Bank.  “However, I predict we’ll see more of the same when it comes to security awareness, patching and risk prioritisation.  The industry is maturing, but at a glacial pace.  Until we pick up that pace, the current overall defensive posture will persist.”

When it comes to the threats that will come to the fore in 2021, Heidi Shey, Principal Analyst serving Security and Risk Professionals with Forrester Research, believes insider incidents will be an area of increased concern.  “Pandemic-related uncertainty and remote work environments have collided to create the ideal conditions,” she explains. “ We expect one-third of security breaches will be caused by insider threats in the coming year, up from 25% today.  These may be due to accidental or inadvertent data misuse, or malicious intent. As part of their defence, firms should add capabilities for detecting insider threats, and improve the employee experience.”

Commenting on the polls' findings, Nicol Mills, Senior Exhibition Director at Infosecurity Group says, “We won’t see things return to normal in 2021, but the year will mark the start of the transition back to a more stable way of working and living.  The trends that have been accelerated by the pandemic will embed themselves into business and society, and new challenges and threat vectors will become evident.  Security and risk professionals must adapt to the new reality, keeping up with the speed of ongoing change, while fortifying their resilience – consolidating and reinforcing their security posture.

Now in its 25th year, Infosecurity Europe, takes place at Olympia, Hammersmith, London, from 8-10 June 2021.   It brings together information security professionals attending from every segment of the industry, as well the leading industry suppliers showcasing their products and services, industry analysts, worldwide press and policy experts.  Expert practitioners are lined up to take part in the free-to-attend conference, seminar and workshop programme.  To register see www.infosecurityeurope.com

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