On Episode 25 of The Cyber Security Matters Podcast we were joined by Jaye Tillson and John Spiegel, who are passionate cyber security evangelists and the co-hosts of “The Edge” by SSE Forum podcast. Jaye has over 20 years of experience in the cyber security industry, across IT infrastructure and zero trust architecture, while John’s background in the industry includes overseeing major projects for global retailer Columbia Sportswear. Read on to find out their perspectives on why the cyber security industry is moving so quickly. 

John: “I talked about paying off your security, which is also referred to in the industry as ‘defence in depth’. So why are people looking to move into this model? Security’s got to be simplified and streamlined. Visibility is hard when you have eight or nine point products that are chained together for remote access, or when your products don’t have API’s that integrate. Security is really hard when you just think about technology and you don’t think about the business outcomes. 

Primarily, what’s driving this change is simplified platforms which bring together technologies that were siloed. Companies are also looking to reduce their costs, not only from a vendor perspective, but from an operational perspective. On top of that, both Jay and I fell into security because of the way applications and workforce are distributed. Now you’ve got to have a different approach to security. Similarly, the way networking and security is transformed and delivered is changing. 

For you to be a player in it from a vendor perspective, you have to have the full stack. You can’t just be a networking vendor and rely on another vendor for the security aspect anymore, you have to bring both together because that’s what provides visibility, simplicity and the platform effect, which is what customers are looking for. 

Another interesting piece is David Holmes (who is an analyst for Forrester) did some research, and they asked customers who had moved over to this SASE and SSE model if they are still using the same vendors as they were using previously. Is there any buyer’s remorse? Are they looking to go back or maintain that relationship? The answer in almost 85% of the cases was ‘No, there’s no buyer’s remorse, we’re happy and we’re not looking to go backwards. This is a better approach.’ What does that mean for the industry? It means that the incumbent vendors out there are under threat. That’s why you will continue to see consolidation within the industry.”

Jaye: “I realised that having people on my network who were able to go everywhere and see everything or potentially hack everything was concerning. That’s how zero trust came about, which is built on the concept of only giving access to devices and applications that people need access to for their roles. You constantly check in, monitor and give visibility, and both SASE and SSE are based on that structure. 

Then you’ve got the consolidation element within the market. Recent statistics show that CISOs have over 100 security tools within their environment, which is impossible to manage. That’s because if you have a problem within the environment you won’t know which vendor to go to, where the gap is, what tool it is, or what you’re looking at. Consolidation is bringing more products under one banner and within one user interface, which simplifies your security. Cyber Security is a difficult place to work because you’re constantly under threat or being attacked, the legislation is constantly changing and it’s a very high pressure environment. If you can consolidate and become more simple, not only is it easier from a support perspective, it gives a better user experience.

There’s talk that ransomware is kind of dropping off, but that’s clearly not the case. We need to make everybody’s life simpler by removing and reducing the attack surface and simplifying administration, product and efficiency for the users. Zero trust is a huge thing in the USA, and the government is doing things about it which are flowing down into legislation across EMEA. Once people start to realise that their tools sit on top of that, there’s going to be a snowball effect.”

To hear more from Jaye and John about their work in the industry, tune into Episode 25 of The Cyber Security Matters Podcast here. 

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