CyberEd Magazine (fmr Security Agenda) , Governance & Risk Management , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

Profiles in Leadership: Robert Hellwig

University of Siegen CISO Offers Strategies for Securing Open Environments
Robert Hellwig, CISO, University of Siegen and CyberEdBoard executive member

Control is the lifeblood of an effective information security program, but fully locking down all endpoints typically remains impossible, because of the detrimental impact it would have on usability, says infrastructure and information security veteran Robert Hellwig.

See Also: DataOps & Multi-Cloud: Streamlining Data Management

The control challenges are even more acute in the open environment of a public university, however, such as Germany's University of Siegen, where Hellwig serves as CISO. Accordingly, safeguarding personally identifiable information, research data and other sensitive resources and systems demands extra reliance on innovative approaches, he says. And that is true "especially on the student side, which is less controllable," meaning that "the challenge is even greater" for security teams.

In an interview with Information Security Media Group as part of the CyberEdBoard's ongoing Profiles in Leadership series, Hellwig discusses:

  • Security, privacy and data protection challenges specific to working in more open environments;
  • Balancing technology approaches with user awareness and outsourcing;
  • The need to differentiate between security strategy and control versus operations.

Hellwig is an expert in organizational resilience, information security, data privacy and business continuity. He is a certified PECB ISO/IEC 27001 senior lead auditor and has worked in the security field for more than 35 years. He now serves as the CISO of the University of Siegen in Germany and is the managing director of a German consulting firm.

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About the Author

Mathew J. Schwartz

Mathew J. Schwartz

Executive Editor, DataBreachToday & Europe, ISMG

Schwartz is an award-winning journalist with two decades of experience in magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has covered the information security and privacy sector throughout his career. Before joining Information Security Media Group in 2014, where he now serves as the executive editor, DataBreachToday and for European news coverage, Schwartz was the information security beat reporter for InformationWeek and a frequent contributor to DarkReading, among other publications. He lives in Scotland.




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