Cyber security has become a critical issue and the urgent need for greater cooperation between the public and private sectors was highlighted at a joint seminar by FT Live and Huawei. The event also addressed how IA, big data and cloud technologies pose increasingly complicated cybersecurity threats.
Several experts made presentations highlighting colm murphy, Senior Cyber Security Consultant at Huawei; Head of OneWeb Cloud Security Architect, Dr. Wendy Ng; and UNESCO's cybersecurity expert on Women in Technology, jane frankland.
With the acceleration of cloud computing and more critical digital infrastructure belonging to the private sector in an increasingly regulated environment, the question addressed was how industries can focus on cybersecurity to create a secure environment for all stakeholders.
The main recommendations and conclusions of the seminar “Protecting critical infrastructure from cyber attacks” were as follows:
One of the most fundamental challenges is the dearth of cybersecurity skills in the workforce and how demand is expected to increase. This is an opportunity to promote cybersecurity at all levels and make the sector more inclusive, addressing the current gender imbalance and thus improving the future development of the talent pool. Cultural and gender diversity can offer a company significant revenue improvements, lower regulatory fines and less risk.
Investing in cyber security and relevant resources should be considered and seen as just as important as the financial health of any organization. This includes building cyber literacy resources starting at the top of a company or government.
Avoiding fragmentation of standards is important because it allows for closer collaboration between industry and companies. While Huawei has been a major contributor to 5G-related cybersecurity solutions and patents, it continues to urge other companies and governments to work together. For example, the benefits of standards such as the GDPR and the proposed NIS 2 Directive require compliance.
In her advice to organizations, Dr. Wendy Ng of OneWeb shared technical recommendations on Zero-Trust explaining “Verification is effectively required prior to accessing any resource or asset. To ensure operational agility and usability, the process is simplified, automated and managed through a confederate identity. ”
Jane Frankland of UNESCO, Women Technology Pioneers, emphasized why diversity matters, explaining “Invaders are varied and come from a variety of backgrounds, parts of the world and with different experiences. In order to defend ourselves, it is essential to have a varied team, which not everyone thinks like us. That way, we don't end up with groupthink or falling into attacks that are being written exclusively for men. ”
Colm Murphy of Huawei Europe concluded “Every actor in the cybersecurity ecosystem has a role to play – manufacturers, service providers, operators, governments and regulators. Working together, the value of digitization can be realized by all stakeholders to create a safe and sustainable business environment. "
The Huawei and FT Live seminar was the fifth in a series of eight seminars that will take place during 2021.
