EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
Cybersecurity is emerging as critical to Business Continuity and growth in 2021 because dispersed workforces and heightened IT threats call for deliberate actions to ensure security is robust . As business leaders review and consolidate many of the dramatic operational and workforce changes that were implemented in response to the health crisis , cybersecurity is coming to the fore as a major risk to Business Continuity .
Existing threats to companies in the form of data breaches , social engineering and phishing attacks , for instance , have now been amplified with employees working from home and IT teams having significantly less oversight over user behaviour . On a global scale , the cyberthreat to Business Continuity and economic stability is so large that ‘ cybersecurity failure ’ is listed among the top five risks in the World Economic Forum ’ s Global Risks Report 2021 .
For South African businesses , a dual pressure is also looming in the form of the Protection of Personal Information Act ( POPIA ) which came into effect in July 2020 – and carries with it major financial and reputational risks for businesses that don ’ t comply .
Yet while this risk landscape can appear both daunting and overwhelming for businesses already under operational pressure , there are immediate , cost effective and accessible steps to take in order to become both more secure and to ensure data security compliance . Arguably , however , it must begin with an understanding that cybersecurity and information assurance are not technology problems : these are business challenges that are usually solved by implementing robust business processes ( in addition to strategic technology solutions ). maintenance or skilled management of these controls render them almost useless from the outset .
With this in mind , organisations have some immediate and practical steps to consider on the journey to bolstering cybersecurity ( and ensuring business sustainability in the long term ).
Harnessing existing assets by configuring them correctly and creating visibility with smart monitoring solutions will go a long way in bolstering cybersecurity and ensuring Business Continuity in an event of disaster . In addition , the rapid shift to remote working has accelerated many long term plans to move onpremise IT to a full or hybrid Cloud environment – and businesses are already reaping the rewards of agility and more flexible operational costs .
However , all too often , leaders assume that Cloud services are inherently or automatically secure – and as a result , they do not interrogate or attend to many of the licenses that come with Software-as-a-Service ( SaaS )
Leaders need to understand that becoming compliant does not make an organisation secure . Just because you have a control in place doesn ’ t automatically make it effective .
solutions . Indeed , what often happens is that businesses buy the relevant license from Cloud service providers on the promise of a ‘ one-stop shop ’ for security .
Leaders need to understand that becoming compliant does not make an organisation secure . Just because you have a control in place doesn ’ t automatically make it effective . And sadly , in many instances , the lack of
Now , these solutions can be very secure and robust , but they still need to be implemented and configured correctly . p
SEBASTIAAN ROTHMAN , CLOUD SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT ,
ALTRON KARABINA
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO MIDDLE EAST 35