CIO & CISO Think Tank

CIOs play a crucial role in driving their organization's digital transformation efforts. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, and CIOs must continue to lead the way to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of customers and employees. This requires a deep understanding of the organization's goals, processes, and IT infrastructure, as well as collaboration with other business leaders. By successfully leading digital transformation, CIOs can position their company for long-term success in a digital world.

Bridging the gap between business and technology is not easy and requires discipline and balance between technology, people, and the business. For so many organizations today, technology is the business. Technology needs to be understood as a critical enabler in every part of the organization from the front line to the back office. It creates new value by crunching data to deliver new insights, it spurs innovation, and it disrupts traditional business models.

For business and technology leaders alike, new actions and behavioral changes can help their organizations make this shift. CIOs must take responsibility for problems, they should convey that when technology fails, many people typically share responsibility.

This session explores the intricate relationship of the UK and EU regulatory compliance in data protection, privacy concerns, artificial intelligence (AI), and ethical considerations in the contemporary digital landscape. It delves into how organizations and their partners must adhere to UK and EU regulations while leveraging AI-driven data insights and upholding ethical standards and individual privacy rights. The discussion will encompass the challenges, strategies, and emerging trends in this complex domain within the context of the UK and the European Union's regulatory landscape.

The biggest fear is not the technology, it is the potential of human error that could expose your organization to a cyberattack. The majority of CISOs agree that an employee carelessly falling victim to a phishing scam is the most likely cause of a security breach. Most also agree that they will not be able to reduce the level of employee disregard for information security. How do we guard against human error without limiting employee efficiency and productivity?

In today's digital landscape, social engineering attacks like phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and Ransomware are increasingly prevalent. These cunning tactics rely on manipulating humans to gain unauthorized access to protected systems and sensitive data. As the frequency of such cyber-attacks rises, it is crucial to fortify your organization's last line of defense: the human firewall.

In this session we will look into case studies around:

• Regular, tailored security awareness training to educate employees about social engineering threats.
• Foster a reporting culture for prompt identification of suspicious activities.
• Strengthen password policies and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce risks.

Threat intelligence is vital for Cloud detection and response, particularly in modern threat-hunting. To address the business need for robust security, the CISO must focus on obtaining actionable intelligence. This entails gathering real-time information on emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and attack methods specific to the Cloud. Such intelligence can be acquired from various sources, including security vendors, threat feeds, and incident response teams. By leveraging actionable intelligence, the CISO can enhance their organization's defense strategies, enabling proactive identification and mitigation of threats in Cloud environments

Cloud computing services have revolutionized business operations, but the threat of cloud vulnerabilities is increasing. To mitigate risks, businesses must implement robust security measures like multi-factor authentication and encryption. Automated detection systems like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) are crucial for real-time monitoring. Regular training and adaptable defences are necessary due to the rapidly changing cloud landscape. Comprehensive incident response plans tailored to cloud environments are essential. By embracing these measures, organizations can protect themselves and their customers, ensuring a secure cloud environment and leveraging the benefits of cloud computing.

Many organizations struggle with how and where to introduce automation and integrations efficiently. Conventional approaches to application security can’t keep pace with cloud-native environments that use agile methodologies and API-driven architectures, microservices, containers, and serverless functions. Application security testing is evolving to meet the speed at which DevOps teams operate. DevSecOps teams are challenged with how to make sense of the noise their AppSec tools generate once they’ve been automated into DevOps pipelines.

Processes and tools are more fast-paced and rely on integration and automation to maintain efficiency throughout the software development life cycle. A new approach to DevSecOps is required addressing a change in the security mindset. How do CISOs achieve this without the buy-in from stakeholders?

Headlines this year regularly report on breakthroughs in quantum computing, the predicted growth of which is exponential. In this session, Dr. Shiu will discuss the cryptanalytic threat of quantum computing, particularly the “store now; decrypt later” approach that is drawing ever nearer. He will also outline simple and effective steps that governments, enterprises and citizens can take to achieve quantum-safety today.