Cyber security: An insight into the business of keeping people safe

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Cyber security, surveillance and data storage are all sectors seeing spectacular growth. But in an increasingly tense and complex world - how secure should CEOs really feel?

Life in our internet-enabled, hyper-connected world can feel scary at times. In the last few years, we've seen a rise in geo-political tensions and reports of cyber hacks and attacks seem to occur with alarming regularity. 

The job of staying safe now means much more than locking our doors at night, and for the bosses of the world's biggest companies - doing business securely has become more complicated than ever.

Throughout 2023, government privacy and protection regulations are predicted to reach more than 5 billion citizens. 

Compliance with the latest data protection laws across different countries can require intricate and exhaustive planning. In fact, government regulations requiring firms to provide consumer privacy rights are estimated to cover more than 70% of global GDP.

How cyber secure are our biggest businesses?

Cyber Security expert and Managing Partner at SBS, Augusto Coriglioni, is on the front line of the fight to fend off digital threats.

Euronews asked him to describe what CEOs and their security teams are dealing with day to day.

"Generally speaking, cyber security is safe enough. Even if we are to say that cyberspace is limitless. Back to real life, [daily] life, we have to say there are thousands of attacks and accidents every day. Also, there are some others which are detected but are not reported by companies or authorities because they do not want to create panic or misinformation for their users," he explained.

"But it is also very important to understand there are some other kinds of attacks where they enter your system and stay silent for information," Coriglioni added.

International cooperation keeping people safe

Governments also have a huge role to play in keeping us safe. Euronews spoke to Air Commodore Mark Biggadike, who was the UK Senior Representative for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and Captain Talal Burshaid from the Qatari Emiri Air Force to find out how teamwork between different countries helped everyone stay safe during last year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

"Bringing in the other partner nations the United States, Italy, France, Turkey and Pakistan as a group we worked extremely well together. Qatar were very welcoming and open and I think that really helped in establishing a very effective security operation, keeping the event safe, secure and successful," said Air Commodore Mark Biggadike.

"I think the military, particularly the royal air force has always had a close relationship with business and technology specifically. So, I see that only increasing as we get more complex technologies and we incorporate those into our assets. I think defence engagement is a growth area for us, we are very keen as [the] UK to work with our international allies and partners on these sorts of projects so I think it’s only going in one direction."

"Over many years we collaborated and worked with a number of global security partners to ensure we would be ready to host the World Cup and now it has successfully passed, all of the knowledge sharing that occurred and the experiences that were also shared will always be applied in future references in hosting any global events and any sporting events," explained Captain Talal Burshaid.

Cyber security for the public

It’s not only big businesses and governments that need to adapt to the challenges of cybersecurity. In the modern-day virtual world, members of the public also must take precautions in order to ensure they are safe whilst they surf the net.

Laurie Maclachlan from the multibillion-dollar tech company, Launch Darkly, told Euronews that even though people might be concerned, there is a huge amount of security protocol in place to combat these problems.

"I think they are quite right to be concerned, absolutely. But I think with the evolution of the cloud has come the introduction of a huge number of different safety checks and protocols – adherence to data protection laws for example. They still have a choice. They certainly don’t need to consume all of their services. Certainly, if 94% of all businesses are using the cloud, that tells you there is a huge amount of safety built into everything which is delivered by the cloud," Laurie Maclachlan explained.

The business of keeping us safe is booming. Decisions about our safety whether in the corporate boardroom or the cockpit of an aircraft are being made with millions of data simultaneously. It's this state of constant connection that creates the commercial opportunity - but with 5 billion people now protected by some kind of data regulation - scrutiny of those we trust to keep us safe has never been greater.

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