JustBusiness: Cybersecurity Essentials: Protecting Your Business with Cisco's Nabil Rajab
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On JustGospel's Just Business with Lindy Tshabangu, Nabil Rajab, Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at Cisco Systems, delivered critical insights on protecting businesses and individuals in today's digital landscape.
About Cisco Systems
Founded in 1984 by two individuals trying to communicate across a San Francisco campus, Cisco created the first router—foundational technology that commercialized and scaled internet adoption globally. The company's name derives from "San Francisco," with its logo representing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Today, Cisco spans telecommunications, IP telephony, cloud services, wireless technology, industrial IoT (servicing South African mines), and cybersecurity. With over 10 years in tech, Nabil transitioned from electrical engineering at Wits University to information engineering, finding his niche in cybersecurity solutions across South Africa's public and private sectors.
The Cybersecurity Challenge
Organizations now juggle 20-70 different security tools protecting against emerging threats like AI, quantum computing, and social media exploitation. Every new technology requires security controls. Cisco consolidates these capabilities through internal development and strategic acquisitions, reducing organizational tool sprawl from dozens to just 2-3 comprehensive solutions.
Why Everyone is Targeted
Cybersecurity isn't just professional—it's personal. Hackers never stop, targeting individuals to infiltrate organizations through what Cisco calls the "working parent study" scenario: employees bring work devices home, children use them for projects, creating entry points for bad actors seeking organizational access.
Cyber attacks have become commoditized—information is literally bought and sold as a commodity. This spans from individual data theft to nation-states using citizen information to push geopolitical agendas and change public sentiment. The threat landscape extends from personal to state level.
Detecting Deepfakes and Scams
December brings heightened fraud activity. Deepfakes featuring trusted public figures or even presidents promote investment scams. Nabil's advice: do your own research. Google fake site detectors, follow social media validators who verify information authenticity, and check if supposed prizes or lotteries actually exist. Most scams have been documented—a quick search usually reveals if others encountered the same scheme.
Critical Advice for Small Businesses
Large organizations have security expertise and recovery capital. Small businesses often lack both, making breaches potentially devastating. Nabil's essential guidance:
Security cannot be an afterthought—it must be foundational from day one. When launching services or products, ask: How are you hosting this? Cloud or physical equipment? How are you collecting and storing client data? Where can the external world access your business—internet links, employee devices, field mobile equipment?
Minimum security requirements:
Antivirus software (bare minimum)
Robust, regularly rotated password policies
Multi-factor authentication on all accounts
Secured cloud accounts (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
Locked-down employee devices
Small businesses can't afford downtime. Unlike large corporations with backup systems, small organizations risk losing customers during breaches. Think security from ground up—bake it into strategic direction from the onset.
Final Warning: Amygdala Hijacking
During peak scam season, attackers create urgency to trigger irrational decisions—what Nabil calls "amygdala hijacking," targeting the brain's urgency center. When pressed to click, accept, or prove something, pause. Are you hungry, tired, or anxious? Step back, breathe, and assess rationally before acting.
Contact: Cisco Systems cybersecurity solutions available across South Africa's business
About Cisco Systems
Founded in 1984 by two individuals trying to communicate across a San Francisco campus, Cisco created the first router—foundational technology that commercialized and scaled internet adoption globally. The company's name derives from "San Francisco," with its logo representing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Today, Cisco spans telecommunications, IP telephony, cloud services, wireless technology, industrial IoT (servicing South African mines), and cybersecurity. With over 10 years in tech, Nabil transitioned from electrical engineering at Wits University to information engineering, finding his niche in cybersecurity solutions across South Africa's public and private sectors.
The Cybersecurity Challenge
Organizations now juggle 20-70 different security tools protecting against emerging threats like AI, quantum computing, and social media exploitation. Every new technology requires security controls. Cisco consolidates these capabilities through internal development and strategic acquisitions, reducing organizational tool sprawl from dozens to just 2-3 comprehensive solutions.
Why Everyone is Targeted
Cybersecurity isn't just professional—it's personal. Hackers never stop, targeting individuals to infiltrate organizations through what Cisco calls the "working parent study" scenario: employees bring work devices home, children use them for projects, creating entry points for bad actors seeking organizational access.
Cyber attacks have become commoditized—information is literally bought and sold as a commodity. This spans from individual data theft to nation-states using citizen information to push geopolitical agendas and change public sentiment. The threat landscape extends from personal to state level.
Detecting Deepfakes and Scams
December brings heightened fraud activity. Deepfakes featuring trusted public figures or even presidents promote investment scams. Nabil's advice: do your own research. Google fake site detectors, follow social media validators who verify information authenticity, and check if supposed prizes or lotteries actually exist. Most scams have been documented—a quick search usually reveals if others encountered the same scheme.
Critical Advice for Small Businesses
Large organizations have security expertise and recovery capital. Small businesses often lack both, making breaches potentially devastating. Nabil's essential guidance:
Security cannot be an afterthought—it must be foundational from day one. When launching services or products, ask: How are you hosting this? Cloud or physical equipment? How are you collecting and storing client data? Where can the external world access your business—internet links, employee devices, field mobile equipment?
Minimum security requirements:
Antivirus software (bare minimum)
Robust, regularly rotated password policies
Multi-factor authentication on all accounts
Secured cloud accounts (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
Locked-down employee devices
Small businesses can't afford downtime. Unlike large corporations with backup systems, small organizations risk losing customers during breaches. Think security from ground up—bake it into strategic direction from the onset.
Final Warning: Amygdala Hijacking
During peak scam season, attackers create urgency to trigger irrational decisions—what Nabil calls "amygdala hijacking," targeting the brain's urgency center. When pressed to click, accept, or prove something, pause. Are you hungry, tired, or anxious? Step back, breathe, and assess rationally before acting.
Contact: Cisco Systems cybersecurity solutions available across South Africa's business
