Johannesburg, 14 Jun 2022
Cyber security is the enabler of the fourth industrial revolution, with humans at the frontline of cyber defence. This means more focus will be needed on changing cyber security culture and awareness within organisations.
This is according to Dr Lydia Kostopoulos, SVP emerging tech insights at KnowBe4, who was speaking at the ITWeb Security Summit in Sandton recently.
Dr Kostopoulos said: “We are living in an era of accelerated technological growth, with exponential progress now taking place. With an explosion of technology coming together so fast, we need to constantly upskill to keep up.”
Highlighting emerging technologies such as synthetic biology, quantum computing, bioinformatics, nanotechnology, VR and AR and space technologies, she said: “All of our industries are becoming smart and risks will come with these advances, and we can’t have any of these wonderful things unless they are secure.
“We need to connect and protect across these new terrains, across the edge, the communication layer and the intelligent core. Cyber security is the enabler of business operations continuity, and our future, and people, technology and process are all part of that.”
“No matter what, it’s the human that is at the frontline of that defence, and we should not forget that. The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide To Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer, co-authored by Perry Carpenter, Chief Evangelist and Strategy Officer at KnowBe4, gives insights into how to transform your organisation’s security culture and reduce human risk,” she said.
Security culture doesn’t happen overnight, she noted on the sidelines of the ITWeb Security Summit. “We will always have vulnerabilities and will have to keep managing the changing risk with ever-changing approaches to training and awareness programmes. Over time, you can build a solid security culture within the organisation.”
Noting that training must be engaging and entertaining and should resonate with employees, Dr Kostopoulos highlighted KnowBe4’s innovative approaches, which include a highly popular TV show: The Inside Man, a compelling drama series that delivers security awareness principles in each episode. Available only to KnowBe4 customers, the award-winning series now has four seasons. “It’s phenomenal,” she says. “It’s reaching people in a way they enjoy.”
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