By Prathima Kasagar
Malware, phishing, password attacks, denial of service, man-in-the-middle, cryptojacking and zero-day exploit – the list of cyber attacks goes on. With organisations embracing digital transformation as a business imperative and leaping into the next level of connectedness, cyber threats and attacks are sure to become more common, diverse, and complex. This is where a powerful combination of human and machine intelligence can be deployed and leveraged. Today, security professionals are shifting their focus towards building resilience – this not only includes proactive prevention of cyber incidents but also the ability to withstand such events and exhibit healthy recovery.
Building human strength
Cyber attacks often cannot be mitigated alone – they could either be overlooked by human eyes or may not be detected by technology-based machines. A combination of human skills and machine capabilities could reduce the impact of cyber crimes and augment a system’s defence. Security professionals can leverage AI/machine learning (AI/ML) to handle time-consuming tasks and create robust, intuitive, and efficient networks. The amount of data generated by employees, customers, and clients could be a lot for security professionals to monitor, posing risks of data breach and leading to unwanted disruptions.
Innovation, advancement and adoption of AI/ ML can largely address the concerns pertaining to data and its ethical use.
However, one needs to be wary of AL/ ML’s downside in enabling cyber crimes.
As the number of cyber attacks increases, the need for more skilled IT and security professionals will grow. This can be tackled through learning and development programmes, especially designed for security professionals. Reskilling and upskilling will continue to be crucial aspects of training the professionals and ensuring their retention amid higher levels of cyber security threats.
A catalyst for transformation
Any cyber attack is viewed as a source of vulnerability, risk, threat and expense. What if organisations start perceiving cyber security as a driver of transformation, backed by resilient and trustworthy technology and systems? Many technology companies are at the forefront of changing this mindset and finding opportunities in cyber security. They believe that a renewed business-focused approach, emerging technologies, sector-specific expertise, and skilled professionals can together create a powerful ecosystem to combat any cyber attack and secure organisations.
Besides technology, cybersecurity requires cooperation from various stakeholders. Cybersecurity professionals and experts must also know the art of dealing with regulators, coordinating with law enforcement, and navigating interactions with government bodies and policy makers. Privacy laws and regulatory experiments across borders will shape the future of cyber security.
