An Omny insider’s security conference takeaways

Dive into key conversations had this fall with Security Leaders throughout Norway from the perspective of Omny Senior Advisor, Siri Johnsen. She has been working in threat intelligence for more than a decade, in both the public and private sectors. Johnsen is here to bring you what you need to know about the current security (including cybersecurity) climate in Norway. She will walk us thorough some key points made among Norway's leading security professionals during several events held this Fall. 

At Omny, Johnsen’s role is to assist customers in navigating their security journey by untangling the complex relationship between threats and risks. She recently attended two major security conferences in Oslo – The Norwegian Business & Industry Security Council’s or NSR Sikkerhetskonferanse and the Attack Conference – where she got to hear what’s top of mind for people across Norway’s security landscape right now. 

“It’s crucial in my line of work to stay up to date on the security situation in Norway and beyond. Right now, much of the conversation is centered around the current geopolitical situation and how it is affecting the threat landscape we are seeing,” - Siri Johnsen

Here are a few more of her takeaways from the above mentioned conferences.

We face an ever-growing threat landscape

Changes in the geopolitical sphere, a dynamic threat landscape, and rapidly developing technology culminate in tricky terrain for any company to navigate. It’s a situation that has prompted increasingly more security discussions in public forums, and as expressed by Norway’s former Minister of Justice, “the day we think we are in control, we are not aware”.

“The world is continuously changing, and the threats we are facing are becoming more complex. Understanding the threat landscape is a key factor for businesses to identify their values and assets, make risk assessments, and implement protective security measures. The threat landscape is dynamic, and so should we be,” - she explains.

Collaboration on security is key to protecting society

During the two conferences, participants noted that the threats experienced in Norway today are persistent and only escalating, and they stressed the importance of working together to protect all of society – not only the obvious targets. The public and private sector have different areas of expertise, and should therefore utilize each other to strengthen security across sectors, and as Johnsen says, “the gathering of knowledge, information sharing and discussions between the public and private sectors is vital to the security of both.”

Whether you are in the public or private sector, the increased adoption of digitalization reaches us all. Cyberattacks, data breaches, and other cyber events are increasing as the threat landscape grows and both governments and businesses adopt more digital technologies.

“Another topic that showed up continuously throughout these events was the broadening of our attack surface as not only infrastructure but also processes become digitalized. This vast and growing digital domain makes us more vulnerable in unforeseen places. It is when we decide to practice and prepare against these growing threats that we create our best defense.” 

Cybersecurity requires realism to support cyber defense

Johnsen stresses that organizations should be realistic in their cyber defense strategy. Nobody has the luxury to believe that ‘my company will be the exception’.

“Things will get attacked. Systems will go down. We need to be able to build them back up.”

As we adopt more digital technologies, we need to prepare for new scenarios. We need to practice and we need to invest in security. Critical infrastructure is always important to protect, not only when current events and incidents are ongoing. 

Information sharing is key, she adds, which is why conferences like the ones held in Oslo recently are so important. Also, publicly available threat assessments from both government and companies are useful, as these provide valuable information that can be used by others to take protective measures to prevent threats from causing harm. 

“The awareness around cybersecurity is getting better and better, among organizations of all sizes. People are realizing that no one is exempt from cyber threats. So, my mantra is simple: be prepared and stay alert. There are steps you can take now to protect yourself from what could happen,” Johnsen says.

“We can lean on each other, learn from each other, and take advantage of the competency and tools already out there in order to put up our best defenses.”

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