SecureWorld Boston — Closing Thoughts

By Donald Borsay, Director of Security Solutions, HCH Enterprises

After a prolonged absence due to COVID-19 lockdowns and contract assignments, I was finally able to return to Boston’s Hynes Convention Center for SecureWorld Boston in late March. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with my New England peers, catch up on the latest products and best practices, and even share my thoughts on the next steps of threat intelligence.

I was reassured to see many of my long-lost friends on the speaker list and on the Advisory Council. One of my colleagues pointed out that I had spent two straight hours on the exhibit floor without moving, — as one longtime colleague departed another came. Each of us is busy working hard to tackle cyber risk.

I spent a significant amount of time on the exhibit floor or in special roundtable discussions within the Advisory Council. I learned a lot about the impact of artificial intelligence on cybersecurity and about the recent SEC rulings that may give the Board greater access to the chief information security officer (CISO). I also discovered new products and vendors that are ready to help in the battle for network security.

I had the privilege of leading a threat intelligence panel discussion on “The State of InfoSec Today.” The main takeaway: that with a clear vision, fewer false positives, and continued effort, we can eliminate threats. I offer special thanks to Katherine Chipdey and Jason Albuquerque for the answers and a packed, lively crowd that built upon the seed questions I offered. It takes a village!

When refining your InfoSec program, it’s important to consider how threat intelligence reveals your critical assets’ exposure. Also, be sure that asset vulnerability and remediation are equally prioritized within threat intelligence. If what you have lacks this clarity, seek the capability to add intelligence.

In the threat intelligence arena, it is important to derive both high-level strategic and operational information, as well as low-level technical and tactical information. The devil is in the evolving technical details, so it’s essential to integrate and transform other domains instead of creating threat management silos.