Real-time cyber watch by enterprises on the rise

Pandemic has alerted the market to view cybersecurity as a necessary investment, not just an IT project: HCL Tech

With more and more enterprises moving to hybrid and work-fromhome models, HCL Technologies’ (HCL Tech’s) cybersecurity division is increasing its focus on real-time compliance monitoring and measurement, said Maninder Singh, corporate vice-president and global head, cybersecurity and GRC (governance, risk management, and compliance) business at HCL Tech.

“The pandemic has presented an opportunity for the market to look at cybersecurity as an enabler of safe and secure hybrid model of work. An emphasis on the same will help organisations draft cybersecurity policies in line with business policies. It has also alerted the market to view cybersecurity as a necessary investment and not just as another information technology project,” said Singh.

According to research firm Gartner, worldwide spending on information security and risk management technology and services is forecast to grow 12.4 per cent to reach $150.4 billion in 2021.

Enterprise information security and risk management end-user spending in India is expected to reach $2.08 billion in 2021, an increase of 9.5 per cent from 2020, while Cloud security is likely to see a growth of over 250 per cent, said Gartner.

HCL Tech’s cybersecurity and GRC business helps customers move from a static to a dynamic cyberthreat management solution by leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning.

Singh said due to the pandemic, cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated and advanced. As a result, security is seeing a strong tailwind. “Enterprises are past the short-term fix to security, and are using this opportunity to re-evaluate their road map to modernise their security environments, such as (securing) endpoints, applications, identity, etc,” he said.

In March this year, Gartner analysts said Indian chief information security officers (CISOS) and security leaders will focus on establishing and deploying threat detection and response programmes and capabilities, such as endpoint detection and response, and move to Cloud-delivered security capabilities to have consistent security coverage - whether working from office, home or offsite. In terms of new skillsets that are required for servicing clients, the top ones are in the areas of network, digital, application, endpoint, and Cloud, added Singh.

While cybersecurity was increasingly becoming a boardlevel discussion at companies, the increasing threat landscape and risk to reputations of companies have meant that senior leadership get involved in the decisionmaking around cybersecurity.

“The acceleration of digitisation in the ‘new normal’, the spike in cyber breaches, and the recent regulatory requirements have revealed that cybersecurity is allpervasive and a business risk that can be best understood by the board and senior leadership, which is why the cybersecurity conversations occupy prime place in all boardroom discussions. These lead to greater focus and consideration while budgeting,” added Singh. Organisations will be required to significantly reinforce their cybersecurity posture, while relying on a scrutinised budget at the same time. One cybersecurity trend for 2021 includes CISOS grasping at quick wins, effective return on investment predictions, and investments in Cloud-based security-as-a-service solutions, he added.

A key gap continues to be skilled talent, because for each role the individual needs to have the right combination of multiple security skills, along with technology, business, and interpersonal skills.

Common threats that HCL Tech has seen growing recently are ransomware, phishing, insider threats, identity thefts, and information leakages. In such a scenario, constantly upskilling employees becomes imperative.