Episode 6: The promised land
Overview
Free the CISO, a podcast series that attempts to free CISOs from their shackles so they can focus on securing their organization, is produced by CIO.com in partnership with DataBee®, from Comcast Technology Solutions.
In each episode, Robin Das, Executive Director at Comcast under the DataBee team, explores the CISO’s role through the position’s relationship with other security stakeholders, from regulators and the Board of Directors to internal personnel and outside vendors.
Through the first five episodes, Das and his guests have shared various tactics for freeing the CISO from the more mundane and time-consuming elements of the role. Now, in episode 6, the focus turns to how they should spend their newfound freedom to better protect their organization.
In this episode, Das is joined by:
- Simon Johnson, CEO and founder of HOOP Cyber
- Hardik Mehta, head of Cyber Risk Management at Uber
Das started the conversation by asking the question we’ve all been waiting for: Once freed from the basics of the role, what should CISOs prioritize in order to best protect their organization?
The answer, according to Johnson, is threefold: hunt for threats, invest in automation to help handle those threats, and nurture your internal security culture. This combination allows for what he calls “the nirvana of detection,” where security teams finally transform from reactive to proactive.
Mehta agreed, stating that “CISOs must become ruthless risk managers on a day-to-day basis. They have to take a risk-based approach in terms of planning their investments to secure their enterprise, but also when explaining their decisions to the board of directors.”
Johnson also stressed that while regulations might vary from region to region, that shouldn’t change the CISO’s primary approach to the job, nor the effectiveness of his recommendations. After all, the underpinnings of successful security remain consistent around the globe.
“At the end of the day, we share mostly the same threats,” Johnson says. “There are obviously some geopolitical differences that reflect different threats in different regions, and there will be tighter regulations if you’re working with organizations from various parts of the world, such as Germany. More importantly, though, we’ve seen a lot of really good activity come out of the NCSC and the UK market, in particular, that’s targeting not just large enterprises, but everyone as a whole, and that can make us all more secure.”
Listen to the full episode to hear all their insights, better navigate the role of CISO, and deliver real value for your enterprise.
Don't forget to check out earlier episodes of Free the CISO, where we explore the impact of regulation on security, strategies for communicating effectively with the c-suite, and more.
To learn more about DataBee and the DataBee Hive™ security data fabric platform, visit their website or follow along on LinkedIn.
More about Robin Das, Executive Director, Market Growth Strategist, DataBee
Robin is responsible for defining DataBee’s unique value proposition in the market, long term strategy and product vision, and business development opportunities via outreach to strategic targets, partnerships, alliances, and other investments to continue to drive overall growth.
His prior experience at Comcast includes roles in Corporate Strategy, FP&A, and development of Customer Experience tools.
He lives in Philadelphia, with his wife Stephanie, nine-year old daughter Pearl, and two dogs, Emma & Eggy. Outside of work he likes to run slowly, cook adequately, and eat out frequently.
