Smarter Security Spending

On Thursday, I was moderating a panel discussion at infosecurity Europe (InfoSec), the leading UK security fair, which hosts a program of keynotes and panel discussions. My panel was titled “Smarter security spending: Optimising spend without exposing the business”. Panelists were Dragan Pendić, Chief Security Architect, Global Information Management and Security, at Diageo; Michelle Tolmay, Security Officer, ASOS; Cal Judge, Information Security Head, Oxfam; and Graham McKay, CISO, DC Thomson.

We had a very interesting, well-attended session with some interesting questions during the Q+A following the panel discussion. Key take-aways for smarter security spending we came upon during the discussion were

• People
• Common Language
• Risk
• Big Picture

Getting the users on board was one of the most important themes of the discussion. Without increasing involvement and understanding of people for Information Security, it is hard to get the buy-in and support you need, from both management and the end users. This is an important element within what KuppingerCole calls Information Stewardship.

Involvement of people is tightly related to the need of a common language - talking in business terms instead of tech talk. Information Security is about the I in IT, not primarily the T – business is interested in protecting information, not technology. The latter is just a means to protect information.

For that common language, the concept of “risk” is of central importance. Business thinks in risks. Managers are used to basing their decisions on risk. Mitigating and taking risks is part of their daily job. Risks also help in moving IT from the role of the notorious naysayer to the business enabler. If business requests a service, instead of pointing at all the technical challenges and no-gos, it is better to show some options, their benefits, their cost, and the associated risks. That enables the business to make informed decisions.

Risk, on the other hand, is the foundation for smart spending when investing in Information Technology – the T in IT. Understanding the risk mitigation impact of such technology and the benefit for the business helps in making better decisions. It helps in moving from point solutions and decisions made in “panic mode” after an incident towards structured, well-thought-out decisions based on the best risk/reward ratio (RRR). This always includes understanding the big picture – how do new solutions fit into the bigger picture? Smart spending requires a smart balance between defining and understanding the big, strategic picture and tactical steps towards this that provide the best RRR.

To learn more about that, join us at EIC 2013 – the European Identity and Cloud Conference, Munich, May 14^th-17^th. Starting with my opening keynote, the topics discussed in that Infosec panel will play an important role throughout the entire conference.