From a talented cybersecurity professional to any of the employees who access your corporate system on a daily basis, people are the first and last line of defense when it comes to cybersecurity in most companies. Changing work habits have also contributed to creating this scenario: a study by the NCC Group among cybersecurity experts indicates that 39% saw an increase in internal threats, of which 51% blame the increase in remote work.
With that in mind, investing in people’s cyber skills, from elementary school through any stage of their careers, is an effective way to improve cybersecurity on a large scale. To achieve this, however, there are several challenges that must be overcome first.
A webinar to improve cybersecurity
NCC Group hosted a webinar about it and spoke with Lynn Webb, Chief Information Security Officer at The Open University; Jonathan Slater, co-founder of CAPSLOCK; and David Orr, director of Managed Services of the NCC Group.
The following are some of the topics covered in the webinar:
-To create a more resilient society and business, we need more skilled professionals.
-Jonathan Slater believes that the key is to have more rules together with an effort from cybersecurity companies.
-Including cybernetic skills in the educational curriculum of schools can also make a difference, says Lynn Webb, since cybernetic awareness must be taught in the first years of education to create greater knowledge the rest of their lives.
-Another key aspect is to make sure that the cybersecurity sector is as inclusive and welcoming as possible. David Orr agrees, stressing that diversity of thought in the industry is particularly crucial to creating a safer world.
-Lynn Webb also underscored the importance of broadening the industry’s perception of what a cybersecurity professional looks like. Instead of prioritizing a specific set of cyber skills, employers should look for leaders and individuals who are able to work well with precision, who know how to weigh risk and know what makes a good product. In this way, the sector can be more attractive to a greater number of people.
-Jonathan Slater reminded that in CAPSLOCK, it is important that people are judged on their enthusiasm for learning, rather than on their background and skills.
