Arctic Wolf on managing security threats to SA business

Loading player...
Fortifying one’s most valuable assets requires additional security, yet globally these security skills are in short supply.
In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ technology show, Ian McShane, vice president of strategy at Arctic Wolf Networks, offers his insights into how organisations of all sizes can improve their cybersecurity posture despite the dearth of experienced IT security personnel. Watch or listen to the interview below.
A recently published Arctic Wolf survey found that 68% of organisations identified staffing-related issues as the number one threat to achieving their objectives.
The scenario is by no means unique to South Africa. In fact, if anything, the country is benefitting from public and private initiatives backfilling the market and from the shared learning that Arctic Wolf, as a global player, brings to the situation.
Large organisations have a perceived advantage in that they can afford to employ more people, have greater processing capacity and more tool stacks as lines of defence. However, the challenge of finding the right people with the right skills, nurturing that talent and building a strong security culture remains. It is a full-time commitment and comes at huge cost, not to mention the additional cost of retaining such talent.
Small and medium-sized enterprises face the same adversaries and are often so focused on business as usual that they don’t dedicate enough time or resources to lurking security risks.
McShane, whose organisation has grown from strength to strength since 2012 and has the capacity to scrutinise vast quantities of data, takes a practical view on mitigating this risk. He believes in complementing the existing skills and tools that may already exist.
Companies leverage Arctic Wolf’s expertise as a third-party MDR (manage, detect and response) service and are operationalised rapidly. The immediate threat landscape is scanned and the health check radiated on a customisable dashboard. This immediately augments the chief information security officer’s security posture and helps triage the severity of identified threats.
McShane suggests that all organisations should consider implementing 24/7/365 managed services and using the operationalised toolset and data, while addressing the skills gap and nurturing talent to become more au fait with the ever-evolving threats and response mechanisms.
To review Arctic Wolf’s 10 cybersecurity predictions, please visit its website and review its lab reports after you’ve listened to this insightful conversation.
6 Jun 2023 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

Mobile money has an increasingly vital role to play in South Africa’s economy, despite the fact that the country boasts an advanced financial services sector. That’s the view of Kagiso Mothibi, CEO of Fintech at MTN South Africa, who was sharing his views in a recent interview with TechCentral’s TCS+…
6 Jun 38 min

AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

Forget the hype, embrace the revolution! In this episode of TCS+, TechCentral speaks with Workday South Africa country manager Kiv Moodley and manager of solutions consulting Jannie Malan to dissect the critical intersection of artificial intelligence and human potential. Malan oversees the solution consulting team, engaging with prospects and clients…
4 Jun 41 min

Switchcom Distribution, and Huawei eKit in the hands of installers

This episode of TCS+ is the third in a series of three focused on the relationship between Switchcom Distribution and Huawei eKit as well as the networking solutions the two companies are providing for SMEs in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Dewald van Eck, networking engineer at Switchcom…
26 May 22 min

Schneider Electric's Clive Roberts on driving digitisation in the CPG sector

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, we chat to Clive Roberts, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) segment leader for anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric. In this discussion, Roberts unpacks the focus of the company’s segment, which covers the dynamic food and beverage industry across 24 African nations, encompassing about…
22 May 40 min

Switchcom and Huawei eKit: networking made easy for SMEs

Networking equipment wholesaler Switchcom Distribution has partnered with Huawei Technologies to bring new offerings to the South African market and elsewhere in Africa. In the first episode of this series, Switchcom national sales manager Lynton Brits and Huawei account manager Tanki Lebatla told TCS+ about the rationale behind the partnership…
6 May 24 min