Cyber Defense eMagazine January Edition for 2022

Danny Lopez, CEO, Glasswall
“If there is any topic the cybersecurity industry will continue to discuss in 2022, it’s the talent shortage. In
the U.S., there are almost 500,000 jobs to be filled in this industry alone. What’s more troubling is that
it’s not just organisations competing to secure talent anymore since ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS)
has entered the market. Cybercriminal groups are heavily recruiting in tandem. In an attempt to respond
to the skills shortage exacerbated by the ‘great resignation,’ commercial enterprises will find themselves
also looking at the talent pool of former (and now reformed) hackers in an effort to improve their own
cybersecurity systems and pad their teams.
The most easily achieved response to addressing the labour shortage today, beyond getting creative with
hiring, is to ensure that organisations have the correct products to protect their systems and data and
automate more menial tasks for their security analysts and leadership -- so they can spend their time
focusing on stopping digital adversaries. Overall, companies must be proactive in both their recruitment
and building out their cybersecurity infrastructure.”
Steve Roberts, chief financial officer at Glasswall
“Many organisations are currently still figuring out what a hybrid working model means for them.
Permanent office space and long term leases are likely to be a thing of the past and this will inevitably
lead to a shift in budget allocation. My advice for businesses in 2022 is to ensure any budget that is no
longer attributed to office leases is reallocated to effective collaboration tools, increasing security and
employee wellbeing. An unused budget is not a net saving, so it should be applied elsewhere to ensure
that the new hybrid working model is secure and healthy.
Companies implementing a hybrid working model should ensure both their office infrastructure and
remote working environments are secure. Remote working can result in security vulnerabilities,
particularly if employees are using their own devices to connect to corporate systems. The budget should
be reallocated to invest in security solutions that will close these gaps and keep systems and data secure.
With the uncertainties around long-term working models, most organisations don’t want to be tied into
long-term contracts. Technology providers will need to rethink and evolve how they are selling their
products. Offering short-term contracts for SaaS solutions that can be deployed solely in the cloud or as
a hybrid solution will enable businesses to better support their customers. Organisations aren’t going to
transition to the cloud overnight, so technology solutions need to be able to protect them in every
environment.”
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