Etisalat to present risk management at Gartner Security Summit

Etisalat will today deliver two keynotes on the importance of a “holistic risk management approach” at day two of Gartner’s Security and Risk Management Summit at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai.

Kamran Ahsan, Senior Director, Security Services and Digital Services, will present his views on the “four dimensions” of security and risk management.

Speaking in advance of his appearance, he said, “We’re here to help to develop awareness among CIOs and CISOs; the entire ecosystem of digital services is changing, and it is important for IT leaders to act like knowledgeable owners. It is crucial that they understand ownership, responsibility and accountability of their data and systems. We want to empower users to address their vulnerabilities, to know their threat situation, and to extract meaningful intelligence from their visibility.”

Ahsan went on to highlight what he believes are the most important themes that the event will address, “First of all companies have to know themselves by being risk-oriented and understanding the risks associated with their business, then moving ahead with their entire landscape,” he said.

“Next you have to know your defences – it is not enough to have security controls, they must be monitored. Thirdly companies must know their adversaries; if something is being monitored you must manage and develop a context – who is doing what, when and how – and then extract meaningful information from visibility. Finally – know your resilience. Prevention and detection is one thing but you must be able to respond.”

Also presenting at the event will be Etisalat’s Sudhir Menon, Senior Manager, Product Marketing, Security, who will discuss the company’s upcoming services that can boost an organisation from a threat intelligence perspective. He said, “There are a few problems we face in information security in the region. There is a lack of people to do the right jobs, and companies often don’t know how to manage the technology they have imbibed.

“Companies need service providers who don’t just sell products but can also manage them as a service. Support is key; there is a culture here of just ‘buying a box’ but when companies hit a security snag, they don’t have the expertise to manage the technology.”