‘Security is Everyone’s Job’ in the Workplace

Business Lab

Hackers around the globe are smart: they know that it isn’t just good code that helps them break into systems; it’s also about understanding—and preying upon—human behavior. The threat to businesses in the form of cyberattacks is only growing—especially as companies make the shift to embrace hybrid work.

But John Scimone, senior vice president and chief security officer at Dell Technologies, says “security is everyone's job.” And building a culture that reflects that is a priority because cyber attacks are not going to decrease. He explains, “As we consider the vulnerability that industry and organizations face, technology and data is exploding rapidly, and growing in volume, variety, and velocity.” The increase in attacks means an increase in damage for businesses, he continues: “I would have to say that ransomware is probably the greatest risk facing most organizations today.”

And while ransomware isn’t a new challenge, it is compounded with the shift to hybrid work and the talent shortage experts have warned about for years. Scimone explains, “One of the key challenges we've seen in the IT space, and particularly in the security space, is a challenge around labor shortages.” He continues, “On the security side, we view the lack of cybersecurity professionals as one of the core vulnerabilities within the sector. It's truly a crisis that both the public and private sectors have been warning about for years.”

However, investing in employees and building a strong culture can reap benefits for cybersecurity efforts. Scimone details the success Dell has seen, “Over the last year, we’ve seen thousands of real phishing attacks that were spotted and stopped as a result of our employees seeing them first and reporting them to us.”

And as much as organizations try to approach cybersecurity from a systemic and technical perspective, Scimone advises focusing on the employee too, “So, training is essential, but again, it's against the backdrop of a culture organizationally, where every team member knows they have a role to play.”

Related resources:

● The Data Paradox - Research & Insights

● Global Data Protection Index