The recent Cisco Live event in Melbourne 2023, provided a platform for industry leaders to discuss the critical cybersecurity challenges facing our industry. The noted event included prominent figures from Cisco and other industry experts, shedding light on the complexities, innovations, and pressing issues within the cybersecurity sphere.
A Not-So-Dark Future
Jeetu Patel, EVP & GM, Security and Collaboration from Cisco expressed an unprecedented level of optimism for the defender’s position in the cybersecurity arena. Patel stressed the need for collaboration and interoperability among technology providers to combat the true adversary – cyber threats. The leader revealed the significance of platforms aggregating telemetry and enabling data correlation across different domains for improved security efficacy.
A Need To Drive Education and Upskilling
Corien Vermaak, Director of Cybersecurity ANZ at Cisco, highlighted the challenges of suffering breaches despite best efforts and the shortage of skilled practitioners in the cybersecurity industry. Vermaak encouraged the urgency for cybersecurity education and the navigation of the increasing reliance on technology for future generations.
Vermaak commented,
“What we need to do as an industry is focus on reaching mass media with a very relatable, analogy like storytelling mechanism. That is how we’re going to reach the populace.”
A Wholistic View of Security
Emma Carpenter, Security Chief Revenue Officer at Cisco, spoke about Cisco’s focus on integrating security into the network and empowering SOCs with XDR solutions. Carpenter commented on the trust in network access and discussed Cisco’s multi-cloud defence solutions and the secure access platform for cloud security.
Carpenter commented,
“You’ve got to think about your ecosystem of vendors, and how they’re operating together because the more secure you can make all of that, the better the environment that you’re in…”
Pertinent concerns about people becoming desensitised to cybersecurity breaches due to their frequency, especially among non-technologists. Vermaak stressed the need to better educate people on the importance of cybersecurity using relatable and simple analogies, and Carpenter echoed this sentiment by expressing the need for continuous innovation and investment in new and emerging technology areas.
Comments were raised around the historical outsourcing trend in security and inquired if Cisco is witnessing a shift back towards all-in-one capabilities. Carpenter confirmed this trend and underscored Cisco’s focus on unifying security dashboards for better visibility.
The Need to Simplify Cybersecurity
Patel’s advocacy for diversity in the security industry, aiming for more accessible, appealing, and easy-to-use security products for the average person. He spoke about simplifying security and making it more accessible for the entire population, shunning the existing complexity that arose from solutions initially designed for power users.
“You need to have more women in security. We need to have more people with liberal arts backgrounds. We need to have people with design backgrounds.” commented Patel.
The Cisco Live event was an interesting turn, as the leading force if networking infrastructure continues its foray deeper into cybersecurity. Seeing the serious investment and focus from Cisco in this realm certainly places them in a position as a force to be reckoned with in the market, and it will be interesting to see the innovations and R&D they bring in the near future.
