TRENDING in cybersecurity will get left behind as they will be more susceptible to attacks .
How far do you agree with the 88 % of cybersecurity professionals who believe automation will make their jobs easier ?
I agree fully with the 88 % and I want to speak to the other 12 % and ask , ‘ why wouldn ’ t it ?’
Automation will make their job easier and will never make their job harder . It ’ s there to help drive efficiencies and ultimately provide decision support to humans . I don ’ t know how you can work in a technical discipline and not see how automation will make your job easier .
Do you expect the number of females within the industry to continue rising ?
Samantha Humphries , Senior Security
Strategist at Exabeam
but unfortunately the journey will be painful for many organizations , particularly for those who are not already prioritizing cybersecurity in the way they should be .
What are some of the overall cybersecurity threats you expect to take place in the near future and how will this affect employment ?
I don ’ t think ransomware is going anywhere soon . We will continue to see strains of ransomware evolve and ransomware as a distraction become more and more commonplace . Unfortunately , it ’ s something that works really well for cybercriminals – too well .
We will continue to see breaches occur because of a lack of security around remote working and the use of personal devices and home networks . The more cloud , the more connected devices , the more opportunity for cybercriminals .
How do you predict the use of automation tools will shape the cybersecurity landscape ?
Cybercriminals have been using automation longer than security teams have . The cybersecurity industry as a whole needs to be quicker off the mark and needs to better embrace automation .
Automation is the answer to how we deal with the amount of data we are generating – it will create new roles like automation engineers and automation architects , for example . But it will ultimately come down to enabling automation – if your business is still doing everything manually , it ’ s going to have a knock-on effect . Organizations that do not embrace automation
Yes ! I think that more organizations are embracing diversity in general and cultivating a more inclusive environment . I also think there is a really good support network for women in security , be that organized or unorganized . We love to see it . And there ’ s men supporting women as well . My friend , Rik Ferguson , who ’ s VP of Security Research at Trend Micro , has a pledge pinned on his Twitter account where he won ’ t agree to appear as a guest on a panel unless there ’ s also a woman on the panel . I want to see the vendor community step up . Too often we see white , male spokespeople represent and speak on behalf of vendors and this needs to change . We need to be better as vendors to represent diversity in the industry .
How could the ambiguity surrounding the impact of automation be improved to put employees at ease ?
It will be important for leaders to bring employees into the conversation . Automation really is there to help accuracy , efficiency and improve working conditions for employees . But , if you don ’ t talk to them to understand what the pain points are , you ’ ll be fighting a losing battle .
If it ’ s an abrupt decision and not a considered conversation , your teams are going to be worried . I think it ’ s all about talking to individuals , understanding what it is they ’ re doing manually and pinpointing where exactly automation can help them and emphasizing the value it will bring . IT and development teams have already implemented a lot of automation , so I think spending time with other teams who are seeing the benefits will help to ease employee concerns .
However , we still need humans and decision-makers and investment in people as much as we need investment in software . p
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