Interview with Xerox executive examines development and research in cybersecurity.
Curated by Gregory Pings
Why is research and development in cybersecurity technologies important? Can we keep pace with cybercriminals? How do you mix private and public research and development efforts?
If you make, sell or own Internet-connected devices – and that’s just about everyone – then security should be top of mind. In this Huffington Post interview, with Charles Brooks provides some insight on questions that should be keeping you awake at night. (Charles is Xerox vice president/client executive for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.)
A brief take on the above questions:
- As the capabilities and connectivity of cyber devices and communications has grown, so have the cyber intrusions and threats from malware and hackers. The threats reach far beyond Al Qaeda and include numerous criminal enterprises and adversarial nation states.
- Keeping pace with the threats takes more than just technology. The weak point is often human interaction. Awareness and education about the threats are very important in the cybersecurity equation because a good portion of intrusion is facilitated by insiders – knowingly or unknowingly.
- Research at national labs typically focus on critical infrastructures, especially those that have a national security value. The private sector is more geared toward creating and selling cybersecurity products for smart devices or to combat malware. Bridging R&D spending between the government and private sectors will allow for a more focused and capable pipeline and reduce redundancy. This is especially important for protecting our critical infrastructure.
The complete interview, written by Brain E. Finch, is available on the Huffington Post.
