Cybersecurity to the fore: talent, outlay and recommendations

GMV, together with other accredited cybersecurity spokespersons, has brought its expertise and experience to the 2nd Cybersecurity Forum organized by the journal El Economista. Javier Zubieta, Marketing and Communications Manager of GMV’s Secure e-Solutions sector, took part in the discussion panel together with the CISOs and CIOs of Globalia, Atresmedia, Correo Express and Viesgo. The inauguration fell to Fernando Sánchez, Director of Spain’s National Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Center (Centro Nacional de Protección de Infraestructuras y Ciberseguridad: CNPIC), who stressed the concept of all-in cybersecurity and hailed as “exemplary” the public and private collaboration in this field. He likewise highlighted the big dent that any cybersecurity incidents can make in the reputations of the organizations involved.

Taking his cue from this opening address, Javier Zubieta then cited as an example the growing cybersecurity outlays now being made, adding up to “1.2 billion euros, with a year-on growth of between 7 and 10%”. Witness the fact, he argued, that “30% of GMV’s ESA contract for development and upgrading the Galileo satellites’ Galileo Ground Control Segment (GGCS), adding up to 250 million euros over three years, will be spent on cybersecurity”.

All speakers concurred on several crucial issues, such as the innovation commitment that service providers will now need to show in order to keep ahead of cybercriminals and assume the shared risk with their clients, and compliance with the required guarantees for protection of critical infrastructure. As for priorities in earmarking finite funds, Zubieta summed it up in one pithy saying: “if you’ve got one euro to spend, spend it on vulnerability management”. Another of the keynote themes upon which all participants agreed was the need to promoting cybersecurity skills and talent to plug the current gaps.

The importance of privacy in healthcare data has not prevented this sector from slipping behind others like banking and energy. During the discussion of this problem GMV’s Marketing and Communications Manager talked about the company’s work “to bring the current legislation of each member country of the HARMONY project into line with the European Regulation”. HARMONY is a research project into the development of new drugs to combat hematological malignancies.