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Cybersecurity Q&A with Fran Howarth, senior analyst at Bloor

By Anna Wehberg, Sr. Marketing Director, Hexis Cyber Solutions

In January, Hexis hosted the 2015 EMEA Exchange conference in London, which consisted of two
days of cybersecurity workshops, discussions and networking. We sat down with keynote speaker
and Bloor senior analyst, Fran Howarth, to chat cybersecurity, and this is what she had to say:

Hexis: What do you see as the biggest cyber security threats facing companies today?

Fran Howarth: The biggest cybersecurity threats facing companies today revolves around the
increasing complexity of networks, relative to the connected number of users, applications and
devices. As we move into the Internet of Things, we’ll find ourselves immersed in a tangled web of
complexity – the only way we’ll be able to make sense of these types of convoluted environments is
by prioritizing the monitoring of our endpoints.

Advanced cyber attackers are identifying new ways to penetrate our networks – through the
endpoint. As a result, a call to security experts has been made for the development of solutions
that protect and monitor the endpoint. Through continuous monitoring and continuous response
of malware attacking the endpoint, security professionals will be able to better sort through false
positives and address high-priority attacks.

Hexis: When you speak to security professionals at end-user companies, what is their general
security outlook?

Fran Howarth: Security professionals at end-user companies are aware of the existing issues
related to security in today’s complex environment. In these instances, the sad truth is that
many organizations still view security strategies and precautionary measures as a bottleneck
rather than as a priority.

Fortunately, for the remaining companies, there is a slow, but increasing level of awareness that
security is important. For these organizations, we’ve seen the steps taken to create and foster a
culture that stresses the importance of security.

The biggest problem that we’re facing today, however, is the lack of skilled IT security workers.
There is an issue with resources and it’s becoming more and more evident as we realize that
responding to every single threat is impossible.

One solution to this problem is directly tied to automation. By continuously monitoring and
remediating endpoints across an organization, the likelihood of an impending breach becomes
smaller and smaller. Automation is a critical aspect of the incident response strategy.

7 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – February 2015 Edition
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