PodChats for FutureCISO: The next evolution of cybersecurity

The Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024 paints a grim picture: there is a growing inequity between organisations that are cyber-resilient and those that are not. Among 120 executives attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting on cybersecurity, fewer than one in 10 respondents believe that in the next two years, generative AI will give an advantage to defenders over attackers.

It doesn’t help that cyber-skills and talent shortages continue to widen, with 52% of public organisations citing this lack of talent and resources as the biggest challenge when designing for cyber resilience.

Asked what lies ahead for the security industry, Gil Shwed, founder of Check Point Software Technologies, sees more platforms rising because of market forces. He also believes that the security industry is consolidating.

“This is something we've predicting for quite some time. Not sure it will happen this year, but eventually it will happen. There's a lot of very cool and sophisticated technology in our marketplace, but there's too many of them. And the market can simply not absorb so many different products.”

Gil Shwed

He acknowledged the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) to the industry, particularly in the cybersecurity space. He conceded two other challenges – fifth-generation cyberattacks as well as the need to protect data that is now everywhere.

The future of cybersecurity

Asked how these developments will impact the practice of cybersecurity and the profession itself in the years ahead, he predicted that escalation would continue. He acknowledged the importance of continuing to invest in cybersecurity.  

“I don't think that we always build the right architecture and the right policies and implement them correctly. So, we'll need to do better about that,” said Shwed. “As technology vendors, we need to provide better platforms, better architecture, and not just good technologies or good products for the marketplace.”

On the topic of artificial intelligence (AI), he believes the technology has the potential to trigger a revolution. “AI powers the attackers and democratises hacking. You don't need to be a security expert to be an attacker. You can take AI tools, and they will make you very professional like a hacker. And that's the risk,” he warned.

On the flip side, he said AI can also protect against AI-powered threats. “It can enhance defence capabilities, detect and advise on best practices. Even as a professional, one can benefit from AI tools to help with organising their line of thought,” he opined.

“More importantly, AI can enable the management of companies to challenge their security experts. If I'm the CIO or the CEO of the company, and I'm not an expert on cyber, I don't know what to ask, but I know cyber is super important. I can use AI to help me ask the questions, fostering a more proactive cybersecurity culture.”

Gil Shwed

Collaboration among competitors

At the recently concluded CPX 2024 APAC event, one of the key mentions was around collaboration. For Shwed, the collaboration is among the technologies themselves.

He pointed to the issue of data leakage detection tools. “Currently, when these tools flag potential incidents, they often generate logs without providing actionable insights,” he began. This inundates organisations with a list of suspicious events, overwhelming resources and increasing liability rather than reducing it.

Shwed says to truly enable collaboration, these tools must evolve to intervene in real time. For example, they should prevent unauthorised data transfers and engage users in a dialogue about the intent action.

“This approach, which we’ve developed over many years, empowers users to provide context for their actions, drastically reducing incident rates by 99.8%,” he continued. “Because if you're doing something wrong, and somebody tells you I'm catching you, you're saying sorry, I didn't mean to do it, you're not going to say proceed. However, if I still do it anyway, I need to explain it. For example, if I am sending the sensitive information out of the office to the lawyer, because they need it, and I explain it, then it’s okay.”

The internal benefit is a streamlining of operations. Shwed believes, however, that externally, it will be equally transformative. “Take malware detection, for instance. Instead of merely stopping malicious files at one entry point like email, a collaborative system ensures that once a threat is identified, it's blocked across all vectors,” he elaborated.

This holistic approach significantly enhances security by preventing attackers from circumventing defences through alternative channels.

“True collaboration means seamless integration across all security tools, from email to network to mobile, resulting in a unified defence strategy that's far more effective in today's evolving threat landscape,” concluded Shwed.

Click on the link and listen to Shwed as he elaborates on the next evolution of cybersecurity.

1. In your view, what are the three biggest developments in cybersecurity in 2024?
2. How will these developments impact cybersecurity practice and profession in the years ahead?
3. Given industry comments that organisations have likely been breached – they just don’t know it – some CISOs approached by FutureCISO ask ‘what they are doing wrong’?
4. When you say collaborative, who are those people in the companies in that collaborative? Do you mean even the competitors of Check Point?
5. How will this offensive strategy impact the CISO team in the performance of its duties?
6. How do you balance the requirements to enable and to protect?
7. Our topic is the next evolution of cybersecurity. 2024, AI is maturing faster than we expected. What is your view? What does the next evolution of cybersecurity look like?