Headline hype disguises security failings
Henry Harrison · Computer Fraud & Security · 2019
The world is not short of headlines about cyber security – the latest breach, the latest malware, the latest vulnerability. The world has become vastly better educated about the risk – from a position 10 years ago where most board members would respond to the mention of cyber security with “I think there's a guy called Bob in IT who deals with that” to the position today where boards routinely identify cyber security as their number one business risk. The world is not short of headlines about cyber security incidents and most organisations have become better educated about the risk. Among security professionals, however, the news flow feeds the risk of ‘shiny object syndrome’ – a focus on the latest threat or security tool. Many organisations have invested in swathes of new security software, establishing a defence in depth that layers product upon product. But software contains vulnerabilities and that applies to security software too. However, there are technologies that offer us a new way forward, argues Henry Harrison of Garrison.