Cyber-Security Threats From Russia

In response to Sir Nick Carter’s comments advocating an increase in government spending to combat cyber-security threats from Russia, Piers Wilson, Head of Product Management at Huntsman Security commented below.

Piers Wilson, Head of Product Management at Huntsman Security:

“It is absolutely right to call for increased resources for British cyber-security defences. However, the problem is more than just a need for more money and personnel to address the issue. Every day the UK is assailed by thousands of cyber-threats, from cyber-espionage aimed at the Government itself to attacks on critical infrastructure, industries, intellectual property and personal information. Put simply, our defences could spend every penny available on people and tools and it still wouldn’t be enough to keep us secure. After all, we are still in the midst of a crippling security skills shortage that is expected to result in over 1.5m open jobs by 2020.

“Therefore the government needs to make sure that spending is being directed intelligently on the right technologies and techniques to solve the problem. In particular, automated systems which are able to assess and rank various threats, allowing analysts to focus on the most pressing ones, are going to be essential. Intelligent automation, leveraging AI and analytics, can help defence analysts avoid running down endless rabbit holes and be smarter about defending all areas of the nation from attack. Cyber-defence isn’t just a matter of deploying people where they are needed, but giving them the right tools and technology to do the job – and this carries over into the commercial world too.”