Recently, Entrust named Bhagwat Swaroop as President, Digital Security Solutions. In this role, Bhagwat will lead the evolution, growth, and expansion of the Entrust Digital Security portfolio, which includes solutions for data encryption, public and private certificate authorities, identity and access management, digital signing, and security policy management.
In this insightful Help Net Security interview, Bhagwat delves into the ever-evolving landscape of digital security solutions, shedding light on the latest trends and advancements in the field. Moreover, he discusses the complex challenges he faces in his new role, providing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the digital security industry.
How have the shifts in worldwide regulations impacted the evolution of digital security solutions in the marketplace?
We live in an increasingly digital world, and cybersecurity is foundational to preserving our way of life. The regulatory landscape has been evolving to keep up with the threat landscape to ensure:
- Infrastructure protection
- Information safeguards
- Consumer privacy
We see an increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape with unique data residency requirements for each country which is resulting in localized hosting of solutions as well as nimbleness and increased granularity of data control.
Regulations like GDPR and CCPA necessitate the need for not only safeguarding information (via encryption and tokenization) but also driving automated protection of PII.
Recent regulations from the White House and guidance from CISA are aimed at driving better compliance with incident disclosure as well as offering a blueprint for zero trust. These regulations are drawing attention to areas which all companies should be paying attention to anyway. Most progressive organizations view cybersecurity as business critical and partner with organizations like ours to create a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
In short, while there is increased oversight, both the consumers and providers of security solutions are more focused on: implementing a zero-trust approach, instituting automated protection of information and taking a partnership posture as opposed to a traditional vendor-buyer approach.
In what ways have your prior positions equipped you for your current role at Entrust?
I have always believed that we grow when we solve the right problem for the right customer at the right time. Innovation is the lifeblood of any high-tech company but it is important to take a customer-first approach to innovation rather than just following technology for the sake of it.
I have been fortunate to have worked in global high-technology organizations across a variety of leadership roles in product development, strategy and go-to-market. My experience in leading cybersecurity companies like Symantec, Proofpoint, One Identity has given me a unique perspective into the customer environment and the evolving threat landscape. As a lifelong learner, I believe there is always more to learn and I look forward to engaging with our customers and partners.
I am excited about the opportunity at Entrust to help our customers protect their most critical assets, their people and their information. Entrust has a great portfolio and the enduring trust of our customers which positions us well for the future.
What new and exciting initiatives do you plan to embark on in your new position, and why are they significant?
Our strategy is centered around ‘securing a world in motion’. It is a very inspiring mission as well as a broad undertaking. We have a comprehensive portfolio and a unique opportunity to strategically partner with our customers with our solutions approach.
As I embark on my first 30-60-90 days, my first focus is to connect with our customers and understand their evolving needs and how we can serve them better and more deeply. From an organization perspective, we are working on bringing together our digital security portfolio in a cohesive set of integrated solutions to serve our customers for their key use cases and across their information lifecycle: from authenticating users, protecting their crown jewels and securing their multi-cloud environments.
My three biggest initial focus areas are: solutions and platforms view, zero trust foundations, and end to end secure transactions.
What innovative technology are you most eager to integrate into your workflow and why?
We take a customer-first approach to innovation as opposed to technology first. For us, the starting point is always about the customer’s need and the specific use cases. From a technology perspective, we are quite excited about the potential of AI and quantum computing. Both these technologies are usurping the traditionally held views of what was possible in both positive and negative ways. AI has the transformative potential of amplifying our detection and analysis capabilities.
We already use AI in our products and look to incorporate it deeply across more use cases. With quantum computing at the precipice of becoming mainstream, the current encryption standards are at risk of being obsolete which could have disastrous implications for information security. We are at the leading edge of ‘Post Quantum’ cryptography to ensure that critical information stays protected regardless of the paradigm.