In this exclusive Q&A, Kaspersky Co-Founder and CEO, Eugene Kaspersky talks about working with police forces to mitigate threats, the trends across the security sector post pandemic and the value of attending events like the World Police Summit (Dubai Exhibition Centre, 14-17 March).
From a relationship and networking perspective, how important is the inaugural World Police Summit to Kaspersky?
We strongly believe that cooperation between law enforcement and the private sector is essential to combatting cybercrime, and we ourselves contribute to such cooperation by working with local police agencies and international organizations such as INTERPOL. We are privileged to count many law enforcement agencies in the region, including in the UAE, as our customers, and this event gives us the opportunity to bring cybersecurity capacity building and cooperation into the focus of discussions.
How does Kaspersky see the threat landscape currently faced by Police and Agency Services?
Over recent years countries have faced increased volumes and sophistication of cyberattacks, which, coupled with the covid pandemic, put a great strain on public resources. One example is the dramatic rise in the disruptive effects of ransomware attacks on critical organizations – from hospital to schools and from utilities to police agencies themselves – which further highlighted the need to develop proportionate technological and law enforcement response to such attacks. The situation is ever-more complex given the low level of cybersecurity awareness and resilience among the general public and often businesses of all sizes.
How can police forces work with Kaspersky to mitigate threats?
There are many ways for police forces to work with Kaspersky to mitigate threats to their countries. We cooperate by working on national level cyberthreat monitoring initiatives, in delivering experts to expert security training to upskill the resources of police officers investigating cybercrimes, in building digital forensics labs and, of course, by sharing knowledge and expertise through INTERPOL. Cybercrime epidemics need to be addressed by enhancing local cyber capacity and expanding regional and international cooperation
What do Kaspersky see from a trend perspective regarding the current climate and the uncertain semi post pandemic environment?
We have seen that governments in the region are taking the lead in addressing numerous challenges. In particular, the pandemic gave a boost to digitalisation – from home offices to health monitoring apps – and literally transformed most industries to become ever-reliant on digital technologies. However, this process has not been accompanied by corresponding investments into digital security, and I believe that addressing security challenges while embracing the benefits of digitalization is the next biggest challenge in cyberspace. That is why we have come up with our Cyber Immunity approach, which allows us to have the best of both worlds!
What are the threats you see for the cities of the future?
We are already living in cities where data is critical. It will become even more so in the coming decades, where data and algorithms will help us navigate our day-to-day lives. A threat to any such system in cities of the future – say, urban transportation or smart energy grids – may result in a crisis of unpredictable proportions. That is why maintaining the security and integrity of the myriad of connected devices, critical infrastructure and digital ecosystems is such a challenging – and interesting – task for Kaspersky!
Chosen to speak at the inaugural World Police Summit, Eugene Kaspersky will share insights on how to protect the digital space from cyber crimes and how to help law enforcement agencies mitigate future cyber threats.
To book a conference pass for the event, click here.
