Penlink’s CEO, Peter Weber, shares how leaders can reduce their odds of becoming yet another statistic through a debilitating cyber-attack by implementing the robust combination of digital evidence, open-source intelligence (OSINT), artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics in this expert Q&A segment.
Plagued by ongoing cyber threats while coping with an unprecedented labor shortage, leaders across sectors must remain resilient to address all aspects of their organization’s operational wellness. Simply put, an organization’s CEO and leadership team have a lot on their plates. Though detecting cyber risks is far from the sole challenge faced by organizations in the digital age, it is one of the most stressful. In fact, Check Point Research reported that Q2 of 2024 presented the highest increase of global cyber-attacks seen in last two years with a staggering 30% growth rate.
In recent years, digital threats have posed significant challenges for law enforcement, government agencies, and corporations, leading to the rise of open-source intelligence (OSINT). OSINT is a practice that involves gathering, analyzing, and sharing information from public sources, providing real-time insights for enhanced situational awareness and operational security. OSINT powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance an organization’s cyber posture by turning complex data into actionable insights.
Q: Can you describe the current state of the cyber landscape (threats, challenges, etc.)?
A: Given what we know about today’s digital landscape, I believe the state of cybersecurity can be classified as dynamic. From online platforms to the dark web, the avenues paved for adversaries to strike seem to be endless. Though new technologies in the market are promising to aid cyber initiatives, they also bring with them risk. With numerous threats lurking in the digital realm, cyber-attacks remain at the forefront of executives’ minds. As threats become more complex, leaders must assess their cyber posture holistically, working diligently to ensure their organizations remain secure.
Q: What immediate and long-term actions can be taken to remedy some of these challenges and sufficiently protect against threats?
A: Steps can be taken to better position organizations as they combat complex adversaries and threats. Immediately, organizations can adopt a solution that provides a thorough understanding of communications, helping to discover hidden connections and patterns effortlessly. By doing so, stakeholders – and their sensitive information – will be better protected. Looking further down the line, organizations should begin to develop a robust plan to tackle their cybersecurity and intelligence concerns as they prepare for the dynamic digital future.
Q: What role does OSINT and AI play in safeguarding strategic data assets and other resources?
A: The rapid evolution of the digital world has led to a rise in illegal activities across the open, deep, and dark web. CEOs and security managers must defend their brand against the onslaught of digital threats that can tarnish their reputation within moments, including cybercrime, data breaches, and data theft, while ensuring the protection of executives, employees, and their physical locations. An OSINT platform can help identify new threats, such as malware campaigns and phishing attacks, by monitoring public sources like online platforms and news websites.
With the introduction of generative AI (GenAI), everyone is interested in AI-driven intelligence. Descriptive AI helps organizations navigate through volumes of data to uncover patterns and relationships within the data, providing insights that can be turned into actionable intelligence. GenAI takes that to the next level, ingesting data from multiple communication channels, mobile forensics, internet-based communications, financial records, and web intelligence. Now think of integrating those capabilities into a centralized AI-based OSINT platform. Analysts and security managers are better positioned to identify new threats, reveal hidden connections across the open, deep, and dark web, as well as improve their organization’s situational awareness and cyber posture.
Q: How then can organizations harness the power of AI and OSINT for effective data analysis and derive actionable intelligence from that data?
A: Data plus analytics doesn’t necessarily mean data analytics. Data must be put into a digital intelligence platform for analysts or security managers to make informed decisions. An advanced AI and machine learning (ML) front end to that platform can quickly interpret and analyze complex queries. It can also assist in ensuring that the data is clean, meaning accurate, consistent, and free from errors or inconsistencies. Moreover, organizations need tools that can monitor and control access to sensitive data, ensuring that only authorized personnel have access and that all interactions with critical assets are secure and compliant.
Q: Who does the responsibility fall on to take charge and implement these practices? What, specifically, will be required of organizational leaders to see plans through for a more secure digital environment?
A: Securing the organization’s networks and business operations and making them more resilient is an all-enterprise endeavor – everyone should be involved. That said, leaders should lead by example, advocating for and moving forward initiatives that make a tangible difference in security. For example, leaders should invest in their IT and security teams, business managers, and employees to ensure that everyone is more knowledgeable about cyber threats. Attending conferences and webinars and providing security teams with the opportunity to connect with other professionals is essential. Moreover, the IT and cyber teams need the necessary tools to aid them in identifying threats – AI-based OSINT, encryption, endpoint protection, and more. This means providing funds to help their teams acquire the latest innovative tools to detect and mitigate threats.
About the Author
Peter Weber has a distinguished career in driving growth and innovation within the technology sector. Previously, he was CEO and Executive Chairman at Curvature, expanding its global presence, and CEO of Carpathia, where he led the company to a successful acquisition by QTS. Earlier, he co-founded SevenSpace, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems, where he later managed a $5 billion IT services division. His leadership also includes roles at The Carlyle Group and Sunmedia, further establishing his reputation as a visionary in both technology and business.
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