The recent WannaCry ransomware outbreak infected 200,000 endpoints across 150 countries, highlighting the devastating effects of ransomware. While patching systems and preaching to users are prudent actions, those recommendations have proven ineffective. In a new report the IDC security team offers practical advice on how to take a risk-based approach to risk mitigation for improved protection.
"It should be obvious to anyone preaching patch and security awareness that we have hit the limits of their effectiveness. It's time to find cost-effective, scalable solutions that gain us patch independence and cover the final mile of security," said Pete Lindstrom, vice president, Security Strategies with IDC's IT Executive Programs.
In the new report, IDC analysts assert that to achieve patch independence, organizations must take a more realistic and cost-conscious strategy that favors more effective approaches and alternatives than available today. Organizations must take a risk-based approach to security that involves evaluating the practices and solutions in all identity, vulnerability, threat, and trust management domains.
To support security professionals in this effort, the new report outlines five best practices for an effective security strategy and program that's designed to address modern security concerns. In addition, the report outlines long-term planning strategies; these may include a data discovery and classification exercise to determine the location of critical assets and whether controls are properly deployed and configured to reduce the risk of their leakage to acceptable levels.
Telecom operators approach AI from two directions: as providers of infrastructure for the digital transformation of other industries and as organisations embedding AI into their own processes. A1 Hrvatska has moved from prototypes to concrete products, from customer support to sovereign European cloud services. Daniel Šimić says workforce profiles are also changing, with fast learning, customer understanding and adaptability becoming more important.
Burra was created as a platform for consolidating IT services companies in Southeast Europe, with a commercial focus on Western Europe and the United States. Its first members, Devōt, Tacta and CoreLine, continue to run their existing businesses while integration is planned gradually, primarily through new projects. Sven Marušić says the aim is not to turn founders into corporate employees, but to build a larger organisation in which they remain shareholders and drivers of growth.
Telecom operators are no longer using AI only for network optimisation and routine operations. They are applying it to faster product development and customer conversations. Matija Ražem says AI enables prototypes in hours, quicker market testing, and automation of many standard support questions. The next step may be a world where personal digital agents interact with agents from telecoms, banks and other large organisations.
