“Enterprises are realizing that traditional cybersecurity controls are becoming insufficient and sometimes irrelevant” – Vishal Gupta, CEO, Seclore

Rapid adoption of digital technologies like the cloud and the sudden shift towards remote work during the pandemic left little time for more enterprises to create a defense against cyber-attacks. While adopting a robust cybersecurity infrastructure is critical to protect important data from cybercriminals, it is imperative for companies to build their cybersecurity talent base.

In fact, 80% of organizations surveyed in a Fortinet report suffered one or more breaches that they could attribute to a lack of cybersecurity skills and/or awareness. Conversations around cybersecurity, therefore, must include the increasing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in India and the subsequent need for enterprises to launch upskilling/reskilling programs in cybersecurity. In an exclusive interview with CXOToday, Vishal Gupta, CEO, Seclore shared his insights on the increasing demand for cybersecurity skills in the industry and how Seclore is helping bridge this gap.

1. Why has data security become a business imperative for enterprises today?

Enterprises have spent a lot of time, energy and money in protecting “Enterprise Infrastructure” consisting of networks, applications and devices. This was all fine till the time the real asset i.e. data was restricted to a known set of networks, applications and devices. Fast forward to 2022, data has no perimeter. It moves across all boundaries and across enterprises and countries. With more enterprises making data driven decisions, data is being generated at a pace never seen before. This abundance of data across all perimeters has moved traditional security measures under the category of “necessary but not sufficient”.

This proliferation of enterprise data has come with increased risks of data theft. The implications of data theft have increased to loss of revenue, loss of livelihood, loss of reputation, regulatory non-compliance and high costs of data breach management. Hence, it is imperative for businesses to establish a robust data security infrastructure that offers all-round protection from cyber criminals. Data security, without a doubt, should be at the center of companies’ overall cybersecurity strategy to avoid increasingly high-profile and complex cyberattacks and data breaches. The cybersecurity efforts should focus on securing data to ensure an airtight system that protects the company’s assets.

2. Has the pandemic created a demand for data and cybersecurity professionals? Is this talent readily available?

The pandemic brought forth unprecedented changes in terms of remote working and business management. To keep pace with this change, almost all businesses across sectors turned towards digital technologies like the cloud to maintain business continuity. The pandemic-induced shift to digital has undoubtedly created a demand for data and cybersecurity skills.

The accelerated migration to cloud left little time for enterprises to build a solid defense against cyber-attacks, and one of the factors that contributed to their lack of preparedness is the shortage of skilled professionals in cybersecurity.

Conversations around cybersecurity, therefore, must include the increasing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in India and the subsequent need for enterprises to launch upskilling/reskilling programs in cybersecurity. In addition to introducing sophisticated data security infrastructures, it is equally important for companies build their cybersecurity talent base.

For Seclore itself, hiring ready cybersecurity talent has been a challenge. We have overcome this problem by having cybersecurity and product training as part of our people onboarding process. Depending on the role, new hires go through trainings for secure coding, security testing and cloud security. We have invested in online learning tools like LinkedIn Learning for people to upskill themselves.

We also sponsor professional certifications for employees on a case-to-case basis so that they can keep growing within the company.

3. What are some of the trends in the data security space?

The traditional cybersecurity i.e. infrastructure security and the modern data security spaces are becoming more distinct. Enterprises are realizing that traditional cybersecurity controls are becoming insufficient and sometimes irrelevant. Remote/hybrid work trends combined with increased adoption of cloud-based applications are giving rise to newer cybersecurity challenges. With this context, some of the major trends which we can see in the data security space are: the adoption of a zero-trust policy, making security and privacy controls more data centric and less infrastructure centric, constant Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles for evolving data protection policies, Persistent Phishing attacks, and leveraging a cybersecurity mesh and distribution approach for security architecture.

Cybersecurity professionals are also combining new-age technologies to build customized solutions to protect their data according to the gaps present in their security systems.

4. What kind of experience and qualification is needed to build a career in data security?

Cybersecurity jobs are high in demand. This field is perfect for anyone who loves a challenge and the thrill of problem-solving. The first step to building a career in data security is by entering the workforce. For this, having an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or online cybersecurity degree is an excellent place to start. However, a degree in Computer Science also serves as a gateway to entering the data security industry. Cybersecurity is a fast-evolving space and it is imperative for professionals to keep upskilling/reskilling themselves to remain relevant.

5. What is Seclore doing to strengthen its data security capabilities to meet client needs?

We are committed to our mission of protecting the world’s information. We are executing this mission by helping enterprises to use best-in-class data protection technologies to ensure that their data remains secure and trackable throughout the collaboration process without hampering productivity. Our solutions cover a variety of data security pillars including data protection, data privacy and compliance, cloud data security and third-party risk management.

Seclore’s data centric security platform allows enterprises to adopt the best-of-the-breed technologies in data discovery (DLP/CASB), data classification, data encryption, rights management and data centric audits.