At our March 19 Data Security Lab, sponsored by EMC, Techonomy’s David Kirkpatrick spoke with RSA’s Art Coviello and former National Intelligence Director Adm. Mike McConnell (now at Booz Allen Hamilton) about emerging cybertrends. Coviello and McConnell kicked off the discussion by sharing their thoughts about why companies are increasingly at risk, and what they can do to deter cyberthreats.
“We have become digitally dependent,” said McConnell. “Whether you are a criminal, nation state, or someone who wants to change the world order, there is great opportunity to go after, to either steal the information or devalue or degrade or restore the information for some purpose.” Coviello concurred that the proliferation of Web, mobile, and big-data applications is increasing everyone’s risk profile. “The attack surface has increased monumentally in the last six or seven years. Think about trying to defend a perimeter that is one mile around. Now expand it to five hundred miles with the same old-fashioned tools.” For companies to turn the tide, McConnell and Coviello believe a shift in thinking must take place among C-level executives and boards of directors.
