FEATURE : CYBERSECURITY

Singapore-based Vincent Goh , Senior Vice President , APJ , CyberArk , highlights the importance of raising awareness of ‘ cybersecurity debt ’. He tells us about solutions to solve the digital identity debt dilemma and the ‘ debt trap ’.

How has the pandemic increased the number of opportunities for cybercriminals to attack ?

The pandemic has resulted in the acceleration of digitalization in many countries in the Asia Pacific region . Employees of organizations today are using more devices and applications , relying on collaboration tools over multiple cloud platforms to keep business operations running locally and across

This has resulted in an explosion in both human and nonhuman identities that when not managed adequately , provide attackers with the opportunity to strike .

Why should organizations frame the growing digital identity problem in terms of ‘ debt ’?

The increasing pervasiveness of hybrid work arrangements has also further increased the attack surface for cybercriminals , leaving IT teams with the task of securing more digital identities that are spread across different networks .

Therefore , as many organizations embark on awareness and security-building initiatives , they must consider framing the growing digital identity problem in terms of ‘ debt ’ – a concept that ’ s as universally understood as it is dreaded .

Whether it ’ s splurging on a big vacation , buying a new home or launching a new interactive app for your customers , you take on debt to get something you need ( or want ) today by deferring ‘ payment ’ until tomorrow .

What specifically is cybersecurity debt and what problems does it cause ?

Cybersecurity debt is a type of technical debt – a term first introduced by computer programmer Ward Cunningham to explain the future cost of reworking a solution that wasn ’ t completely or properly designed from the start .

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