The importance of cybersecurity in the age of digital transformation

The world is developing. That is not novel on its own. Since the beginning of time, the world has changed and grown in a constant fashion. Technology has compressed timeframes and accelerated the rate of change, making it different now. In this day and age of rapid digital transformation, it’s more important than ever for businesses and cybersecurity professionals to be open with one another and work together to 

The personal computer has only been around for 40 years, and not that long ago, a household might only have one PC that the whole family shared. This is the age of digital transformation. Nowadays, it is common for each member of a household to own a laptop or two-in-one hybrid, and the majority of people have smartphones that keep them connected to the internet around the clock and from virtually any location.

However, the evolution of personal computers to laptops, tablets, and smartphones is only one aspect of digital transformation. In today’s world, digital transformation literally permeates all facets of our lives. Thermostats, smoke detectors, refrigerators, lights, alarm systems, motion sensors, smart speakers, connected locks, and a variety of other connected devices are present in modern homes. These devices are constantly monitoring the condition of your home, and all of that data is transmitted to the cloud.

However, from the perspective of the homeowner, this digital transformation takes place behind the scenes. To have complete control and visibility over their homes, individuals simply install a few apps on their smartphones. They are not required to construct the backend infrastructure or comprehend it. To streamline and simplify their lives, they simply install apps and devices.

All of this data raises security concerns as well. You don’t want companies, random strangers, or intruders to have access to your home’s cameras and microphones, which could allow them to spy on your activities and provide them with information about when you’re home and when you aren’t. However, just as crucial as security is is the ease with which users can access it and its transparency to them.

When I founded Qualys in 1999, I had this vision, which is slowly becoming a reality. I have high hopes for the security industry’s future, but part of that hope is based on ensuring that the right people continue to have the right conversations to move the needle in the right direction.

Humans had to adjust to technological advancements from the late 1800s for 150 years. As new technologies like the automobile, light bulb, telephone, airplane, radio, and television emerged, the world experienced rapid change. Humanity went from not being able to fly to landing on the Moon in about 65 years.

Technology is undergoing rapid and profound transformation. A domino effect occurs when technological advancements bring about significant changes to the world as a whole. You will fall behind if you don’t change and adapt, and in today’s always-connected world, this means changing security to keep up with the pace of change.

Security and its role in facilitating it must be understood by the C-suite. The topic of security scares some executives, especially those from non-technical businesses. However, it is absolutely necessary for executives to be aware of privacy and security concerns and to take the necessary measures to address them. They must employ cybersecurity professionals who understand if they do not or cannot comprehend.

Interaction between CIOs and CISOs To deal with security in the age of digital transformation, we need to talk to executives of other companies and be open and honest about the issues we face and potential solutions. I am pleased to announce the CIO/CISO Interchange as a result of this.

I and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) established the non-profit, non-commercial CIO/CISO Interchange. It is an open, vendor-neutral forum for CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs to discuss, debate, and share information about protecting the next generation of information technology.

We wanted to raise awareness of vulnerability management when I and the late Howard Schmidt co-founded the first CSO Interchange in 2004. Before the bad guys could find and exploit vulnerabilities, businesses needed to know how important it is to find and fix them. It took a lot of work to find and fix vulnerabilities, and not many businesses were doing it at the time. Eventually, vulnerability management became common practice, and the event ceased to be necessary.

In this age of digital transformation, it is time to carry out similar actions regarding security once more. I decided to work with the Cloud Security Alliance because of how well it has promoted and educated people about cloud security. With 100 chapters and 80,000 participating security experts, this movement is very strong.

The CIO/CISO Interchange aims to educate the C-suite about the ineffectiveness of adding security after the fact. It is like trying to swim upstream, which is much more difficult and never fully works, to add security after the fact. Now is the time to change the way things are looked at. Businesses must prioritize security and incorporate security into digital transformation’s very foundation.

Throughout the year, there are numerous conferences on security. However, security vendors typically focus on launching new products and praising themselves for incremental advancements in existing technology at conferences, which are typically vendor-centric. They are full of marketing jargon and buzzwords, and they don’t encourage the kind of open dialogue that is necessary to truly comprehend and address the issues we will face in the next three to five to ten years.

Our first CIO/CISO Interchange will bring together people from businesses of all sizes and industries. The size of the business doesn’t matter in the end. It is possible for even the tiniest business to have a significant impact on the world around it. We are starting off small with 50 to 100-person local and regional events. The objective is not to sell anything; rather, it is to bring people together who have something to say.