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17 January 2019 (Paris, France) — The International Cybersecurity Forum in Lille, France (FIC2019) is a platform aiming to promote a pan-European vision of cybersecurity as well as to strengthen the fight against cybercrime. It has fast become THE reference event, bringing together all major actors of digital trust. This year we’ll have over 8,700 visitors, 350+ vendors and partners, and over 80 countries represented.
There is no better place than FIC2019 to:
– learn about cyber technology, cyber warfare and cyber security
– have the opportunity to meet the major players in cyber security and take stock of the tendencies and trends regarding cyber attacks, and especially of the solutions now that this problem is becoming so critical and so more general
This year at the FIC, FireEye will focus on the human, especially men and women involved in the analysis and response to incidents, but will also present its products such as the EDR FireEye HX and Email Security FireEye EX and the HELIX platform.
Marc Jacob of Global Security Magazine had the opportunity to interview David Grout, CTO EMEA of FireEye, about various aspects of cyber security. That interview (in French) is available by clicking here. The English version follows:
David Grout, FireEye: “To protect training, tools are key, but intelligence is decisive”
An interview by Marc Jacob of Global Security Magazine
January 2019
This year at FIC2019, FireEye will focus on the human side, especially the men and women involved in the analysis and response to incidents, but will also present its proprietary products such as the EDR FireEye HX, Email Security FireEye EX, or the HELIX platform. David Grout, CTO EMEA of FireEye, considers that to protect training, tools are key, but intelligence is decisive.
Global Security Mag: What news will you be showcasing during the 11th edition of the International Cybersecurity Forum?
David Grout: We’re not going to focus only on technological news, but of course we’re going to be sharing the advances in our product lines like the FireEye HX EDR or the FireEye EX Email Security. We’ve also decided to highlight the human side this year: the men and women involved in analyzing and responding to incidents. To do so, FIC will be used to present our new features around the HELIX platform that automates the response to incidents, but we will also invite our visitors to participate in an interactive cyberattack simulation exercise. The goal is to understand and analyze an attack, its impacts, and ways to manage it.
GS Mag: According to you, whether psychological, technical, human, or financial, what are the challenges of “by-design” security and privacy, the theme of FIC 2019?
David Grout: There are many challenges, but the opportunities are beautiful. The biggest challenge for me is to involve the end user in the design and security commitments. We must manage to switch to an interactive mode where users will have the opportunity to ask for security elements, to understand them, and to challenge them. We are in a society where the experts speak to the experts, but the real challenge today is democratizing this discourse so that the users can also take part.
GS Mag: What are your 3 tips for organizations to address these challenges?
David Grout: My first piece of advice is education, educating is key to helping understand. Everything cannot be done based on technical elements; each link must become aware of the security and elements to put in place to achieve it. In this context, education is key.
The second would be transparency; without transparency, we cannot advance in security challenges.
And finally, I will end with openness and sharing, which is necessary for the defense of an ecosystem. It seems impossible, even delusional, to defend technology or knowledge using security bricks; we must approach a model platform.
GS Mag: What has changed for businesses with the GDPR and where are they in their compliance?
David Grout:I will not judge the level of corporate compliance today, but I can confirm that the GDPR has moved the lines. The publication of data leakage-type security events exploded in 2018, which shows an awareness and a paradigm shift. For a long time, especially in France, subjects of data leaks and computer attacks were taboo; today, they make the front page of the press every week.
GS Mag: What do you think we should expect in 2019, be it attack or defense?
David Grout: It’s still difficult to predict the future, but I think this year we will once again see a lot of things around the influences through social networks, around “supply chain” attacks, and finally, around the attribution and the associated geopolitics. In terms of great themes, there will definitely be a strong current on automation, machine learning, or Artificial Intelligence; the hardest will be not answering all the sirens and the reason to keep the contribution and the implementation of these technologies.
GS Mag: What is your message to our readers?
David Grout: My message is relatively simple, to protect yourself well, you must know against whom, and be well-prepared and well-equipped. In this context, training and tools are key, but intelligence is decisive. I encourage your readers not to dive into 100% security alone; CSIRT, SOC, and associated processes are the differentiating elements in today’s response to incidents. So do not think that technology will do the job alone. Attacks will always exist; the ability to respond will determine the difference between a society that’s ready and one that was not.
NOTE: you can follow all the action next week on Twitter following the hashtag #FIC2019 and the event Twitter account @FIC_fr, as well as our Twitter account @ediscoverycloud which will be Tweeting in French and English.