TRENDING
workforces through training academies or job
rotations. “The primary driver for us are skills,”
said Claus Tepper, Head of Cybersecurity
Operations at Absa Group. “And I think South
Africa is, as everywhere else, fundamentally
challenged to getting the right people on
board.” To solve that, Absa jumpstarted
an academy to develop and train talent
recognising that it takes years for a team to
become fully SOC-efficient.
In the report, all Think Tank members
highlighted the importance of ensuring SOC
analysts and engineers are tuned into the
company’s cybersecurity strategy, business
processes and overall business.
Malcolm Harkins, Chief Security and Trust
Officer at Cymatic, believes team structures
can help with upskilling: “I believe structure
drives behaviour,” Harkins said. “We’ve had
creative ways of getting people out of their
day jobs, such as job rotations between
teams and factory tours for security and
management at just the cost of time and
travel because when people understand the
criticality and unique needs of a function,
they’re usually impressed.”
In-house versus outsourced –
relationships matter
Dependent on business needs, third party
providers, like in other areas of the business,
can be extremely valuable or, conversely,
hinder progress.
When an outsourced relationship
becomes a cybersecurity partnership, an
external SOC team can be a key partner
in addressing issues and shaping the
organisation’s long-term security needs.
However, a lack of physical presence in
the office can cause miscommunication
or trust issues, which are detrimental to
the business.
CR Think Tank members highlight that
no matter if the SOC team is internal
or external, the onus is on the CISO to
showcase the SOC team’s value. As that
team function is not often seen as a core
competency, building relationships with the
senior executive leadership team will ensure
CISOs have what they need for success.
Technology and automation –
avoid the security chase
Automation has the potential to transform
the life of a SOC analyst. Notably by
increasing productivity and decreasing
Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR). The
experts recommend building automation
into every project to make it part of the
organisation’s structure. When it is thought
about early on, automation becomes a
natural part of every process.
“
SEATING
LOCATION WITHIN
AN OFFICE CAN
MAKE A BIG
DIFFERENCE –
MANY COMPANIES
OPT TO PUT
THEIR TECH AND
SECURITY TEAMS
NEXT TO EACH
OTHER TO FOSTER
CREATIVITY,
AGILITY
AND BETTER
COMMUNICATION.
26 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com