Rajpreet Kaur, principal analyst at Gartner, says global CIOs need a new strategy and investment plan to reduce security issues.
CIOs, as part of their information security plan, should utilize a rebalanced technology portfolio identifying opportunities to experiment with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) to deliver new value, Rajpreet Kaur said.
CIOs need to continue build bench strength through innovative approaches to developing the team’s capabilities. CIOs should enhance their own skill set by engaging with digital business teams to build own capabilities and exposure.
A recent Gartner survey of CIOs indicated that 88 percent of global CIOs have deployed or plan to deploy cybersecurity software and other technology in the next 12 months.
Enterprises are always exposed to some level of cyber security risk. While the security technology vendors are working towards building new features and technologies, there is also a whole other market where hackers are paid to hack into these technologies.
Security solution suppliers are making huge investment to boost their portfolio. For instance, networking major Cisco recently announced the acquisition of Duo Security, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for $2.35 billion in cash.
Threats are growing
The types of threats organizations are protecting against has shifted significantly, Barracuda Networks’ survey of 1,500 IT leaders and security professionals in North America, EMEA, and APAC indicates.
The IT professionals identified email and networks as their top two priorities in both 2003 and 2018. 23 percent said email is their top security priority. Network security is the second priority for 22 percent.
Another Gartner report said the top five areas that Asia Pacific CIOs will invest new or additional funding in 2019 are: business intelligence and data analytics (42 percent); core system improvements and transformation (33 percent); artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (33 percent), cybersecurity and information security (32 percent); and digital business initiatives (30 percent).
Security companies are already spending funds on research around AI and ML methods to make detection, response and prevention more automated, and remove the chances of false positives. However, AI and ML technologies have a lot more potential and require security vendors to acquire high end skills, so that they can integrate the same in their products.
Another survey from Gartner said 94 percent of Indian CIOs expect cybersecurity threats to worsen. 62 percent of Indian CIOs said cybersecurity is their responsibility. However, on its own, the IT organization can no longer provide cybersecurity.
Gradually security budgets are increasing, and this is going to continue as we invest in sophisticated technologies. Even if these are being delivered from the cloud, they can prove to be more expensive than the on-premise deployments, Rajpreet Kaur says.
Enterprise software spending that includes spending on cyber-security is forecast to grow at 8.3 percent to $439 billion in 2019 from $405 billion in 2018 (+9.9 percent). Enterprise CIOs will be spending on core applications such as ERP, CRM and supply chain, in addition to security, Gartner said.
FireEye, a security solutions supplier, says organizations will consider investing in enhancing their existing capabilities and accelerating the adoption of technology, intelligence and expertise to move up in the cyber security maturity curve and go beyond SOC operations.
“In 2019, we expect to see board level executives taking a significantly increased role in cyber risk management and threat hunting initiatives,” Shrikant Shitole, senior director and country head for India at FireEye.
Social media network Facebook is considering buying a cyber security company to protect its own business and customers. The development shows that CIOs are taking responsibility against cyber threats.
Baburajan K