{"id":39599,"date":"2021-02-16T19:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T19:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/security\/blog\/?p=92853"},"modified":"2021-02-16T19:00:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T19:00:57","slug":"afternoon-cyber-tea-evaluating-individual-and-organizational-cyber-risk-in-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/afternoon-cyber-tea-evaluating-individual-and-organizational-cyber-risk-in-a-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Afternoon Cyber Tea: Evaluating individual and organizational cyber risk in a pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cybersecurity professionals find themselves in high demand as organizations worldwide continue to grapple with how to secure millions of remote workers. James Turner<\/a> is an industry analyst at CISO Lens<\/a> and served as an adjudicator from 2017 to 2019 for the Australian government\u2019s cyber war games: Operation Tsunami<\/a>. In this episode of Afternoon Cyber Tea<\/a>, James and I talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the critical need for cooperation across the cybersecurity industry, as well as the need for strengthening communication between governments and private organizations.<\/p>\n

Our discussion really examines how the pandemic has pushed organizations toward greater cost efficiencies and a new mainstreaming of cybersecurity\u2014democratizing the language and tools to make it part of everyone\u2019s \u201c9 to 5\u201d experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has a plan until they get hit in the face,\u201d as James puts it. \u201cRansomware is off the hook\u2014one organization just got hit with a 10 million dollar ransom. That\u2019s more than the average Australian or New Zealand organization spends on security in a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the old saying that every crisis presents an opportunity holds true, James sees the pandemic as a tremendous catalyst for better information sharing amid budget cuts and a fragmented workforce. \u201cThe security operating centers at large banks are on speed-dial with each other because the attack against Company A hits Company B the next day. No organization, or even an entire country, can do it all by themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

During our talk, we also touch on how the pandemic has pushed security professionals to look at new ways of optimizing delivery, such as utilizing an integrated security solution<\/a> rather than an expensive niche product. \u201cIt\u2019s given businesses a new appreciation for automatic patching,\u201d James recounts. \u201cMy group of CISOs is discussing installing agents on personal devices; the legalities and logistics around that. Budgets are becoming an issue; so, I\u2019m encouraging them to think like startups\u2014get creative.\u201d<\/p>\n

James and I also examine how security professionals need to do a better job of evangelizing across the entire IT sector, including developing a ground-level understanding of your own organization\u2019s business units. Cybersecurity will only be truly effective when it\u2019s no longer part of an org chart but simply part of everyone\u2019s job.<\/p>\n

To hear my complete conversation with James Turner, listen to the full episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/h2>\n

In this ongoing podcast series, I talk with cybersecurity influencers about the evolving threat landscape and explore the promise of systems powered by AI, IoT, and other emerging tech. In every episode, we\u2019ll look at empowering people and organizations to create a more secure, productive digital environment.<\/p>\n

Listen to Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson on:<\/h2>\n