Events , Governance & Risk Management , IT Risk Management

Enterprise Cyber Risk: Overcoming the Issue of Siloed Tools

Cybersecurity is evolving beyond tool deployment toward the strategic management of threats. While companies deploy numerous tools to address security incidents, this siloed strategy may obscure the bigger picture - understanding the comprehensive cyber risk to the business.

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Boards are now recognizing that "cyber risk is a business risk," and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, said Sumedh Thakar, president and CEO, Qualys. Thakar advised a holistic assessment of cyber risks, where CISOs play a crucial role in quantifying the risk posture along with its impact on the business and communicating that to the four key stakeholders: CEO, CFO, IT team and compliance team.

"If you are not taking a view of what is the overall risk that is created by cyber infrastructure to your business, then you don't know where to focus, what to fix first and what to prioritize," he said.

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Thakar also discussed:

• How software diversity and siloed solutions complicate tracking and managing cyber risks;
• How customized risk scoring helps enterprises use finite resources more efficiently;
• How bringing patch and vulnerability management together can improve cyber defense.

Thakar leads Qualys' vision and strategic direction. He has undertaken various leadership roles focused on helping the company deliver on its platform vision. Prior to becoming CEO, Thakar was the chief product officer, where he oversaw all things product, including engineering, development, product management, cloud operations, DevOps and customer support.