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In my new job , I spent months not meeting anybody . You do everything in a virtual realm . It was unusual and a bit disorienting at times .
how connectivity is authorized and managed between endpoints of a particular security framework or endpoints that might be federated among multiple governing entities , and that will always be done at the Edge and not in some large aggregation environment .
With an aggregated policy framework , the user would come in from outside the firewall intrusion prevention security layer and the request would be interrogated and allowed if it passed policy requirements .
Zero Trust flips the model so that users can only gain access to an environment if they have already received authorized credentials and they are known .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside of the office ?
Throughout my career , I have carved out at least an hour a day to play music . It is so far removed from everything else I do that it helps me recharge . Music opens your mind to new ideas and helps you appreciate deeper connections – and that ’ s key to success as an executive in a company that prioritizes technological innovation .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
I ’ ve spent my career splitting my time between large stable organizations and small , fledgling start-ups with hopes of repeating the great outcome we had at Xedia . If I ’ d stayed in a big company , I ’ d have advanced to the executive realm sooner . In the startup realm , I might have had an opportunity to maximize the financial outcomes . So , I don ’ t regret any of my decisions , but if asked to advise someone I ’ d say you ’ ve got to choose one road .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
The next round of innovations will focus on increasing the collaboration between companies and governments to ensure critical infrastructure keeps us communicating and doing business while also respecting privacy , protecting sensitive data and meeting stronger regulatory requirements .
There will also be a massive increase in investment in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to augment static authorization frameworks .
With these technologies , organizations will be able to tell when something that was previously authorized has departed from its normal behavior and can no longer be trusted and trust in a well-adapted Zero Trust framework is of an ephemeral nature and only granted for the needed time or duration for the work to take place that needs to happen and then it is constantly re-interrogated .
The big thing that has changed my role is COVID-19 . In my new job , I spent months not meeting anybody . You do everything in a virtual realm . It was unusual and a bit disorienting at times .
The irony of this era , as we became physically disconnected , is that companies were able to respond with an unprecedented level of digital connectivity .
To the casual observer , it looked like our critical network infrastructure just adapted to the changing needs of a completely remote workforce overnight . But in fact , network infrastructure has been continually developed against a backdrop of worstcase scenario testing since the early 1990s .
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in your industry ?
In the 10-year horizon , we will start to see real commercial availability of quantum cryptography , which will create an even more difficult barrier to overcome from an adversary perspective . Quantum technologies generally are still in their infancy today , but they will be of significant interest to government entities because the overall benefit with respect to closing security gaps and blocking adversaries is tremendous .
If you want to get to C-level , you have to be committed to a professional and equitable way of treating people , because that is how you build trust . Without trust , you will find it difficult to succeed , let alone advance in your career . Be impeccable in your ethical approach to business , be organized and thoughtful , give credit where credit is due and have fun with the people you ’ re working with . p
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