Protecting the progress that technology enables

This month, Dorset Chamber’s chief executive, Ian Girling, chatted with Malcolm Tuck, managing director of ESET UK. ESET UK is part of an award-winning global business providing vital online security for people and businesses. Hello Malcolm. Tell me a little about ESET UK…

With over three decades of experience in digital security and innovation, ESET is an award-winning provider trusted by millions of internet users worldwide. Taking our strapline ‘Progress Protected’ to heart, we help people unlock all that tech has to offer – from companies big and small down to families across their own networks – without security compromise. We see ESET as a solution for everyone.

As a starting point, one area I am really interested in is the positioning of tech as a force for good. What are your thoughts on this?

Absolutely – tech is an amazing force for good, revolutionising how we live our lives, from communication to collaboration and beyond. But with this newfound convenience comes an increased risk of cyber threats. We leave digital traces of ourselves everywhere. It’s our matchmaker, therapist, teacher, wallet, guardian of our memories… What we think is invisible is, in fact, very much visible sometimes. And if this data falls into the wrong hands, it’s mined into a trillion-dollar-a-year cybercrime industry – making us the commodity.

To embrace the amazing technological process we see today, it’s more important than ever for us to take active steps towards better cybersecurity. As I said before, ESET’s mission is to protect the progress that technology enables.

Cybercrime seems to develop at an ever-increasing rate and is becoming increasingly sophisticated. How can we keep up to speed with the latest scams?

The digital world is like a Wild West of online criminal activity, with new and increasingly sophisticated scams developing every single day, as you say. There are so many myths, too

– these hackers aren’t ‘nerds’ in the basement but sophisticated, trained, organised crime groups that operate strategically.

Having a bird’s eye view of your attack surface is crucial, something I really can’t stress enough. Businesses must have visibility. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. They need to play the long game and look at cybersecurity from a strategic perspective, no matter your sector or budget.

We recently interviewed Europe’s number one ethical hacker Jamie Woodruff, who also happens to be a big advocate of ESET (shameless plug!) and says we need to stop living like analogue clocks in a digital world. This is the mindset business leaders need to take when planning. We need to implement dynamic security strategies to stand against new threats. So how can we encourage businesses to make this a higher priority? So often, this only seems to become a priority once a business has suffered some kind of attack. Sadly, this is all too true, and it’s often a case of too little too late. And it’s not just the financial costs you’re dealing with as a business – how can you pick up the pieces after your company’s reputation has been damaged? How can you rebuild that trust?

I think having a strong cyber armoury is a competitive advantage in itself; it’s something to be prioritised in the business interest. Any company that seeks longevity needs to be talking about security and proving that protecting their customer’s data is a priority.

As parents and carers, we all worry about the safety and wellbeing of our children online. How can we better protect our children?

It’s no surprise online safety is becoming a growing concern for parents and guardians. Online activity is an enormous part of our lives now, and it’s not much different for kids. So, as a parent myself – I get the frustrations. Though, it’s encouraging to hear the UK government is introducing an online safety bill to bring tighter enforcement of cybersecurity and safety measures in the UK. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for online safety measures overall, which offers peace of mind for individuals and businesses throughout the UK.

We aim to reframe the narrative that technology is dangerous for kids – yes, they may not even consider their security when gaming or answering emails – but it is a pivotal part of their learning. ESET’s CSR initiative, Safer Kids Online, is a free educational resource designed for schools in conjunction with Internet Matters that assists parents and children and provides learning materials about staying safe online. www.eset.com