Information security in practice
When asked why he chose a career in IT security, Mattias explains that curiosity is his driving force – particularly when things start to change.
– The security field has undergone enormous transformation and made significant progress in recent years. When I started in the industry, security was often seen as a necessary evil – something organisations dealt with at the end of a development process. They might say, ‘let’s just add a few firewall rules here.’
With the introduction of new regulatory requirements such as GDPR, security experts were moved higher up the value chain. Security became part of the business agenda and a critical success factor.
– What we’re seeing today is both incredibly exciting and somewhat alarming. We live in an unstable world where organised crime has moved into the digital sphere. That means those of us working in security must stay one step ahead and plan for multiple possible scenarios, says Mattias.
Some of these scenarios, he explains, include how an organisation can recover as quickly as possible after an incident, whether there is a plan for manual operations in the event of a cyberattack, and who is responsible for what – as well as how communication is handled during a crisis.
– People often say that an attacker only needs one way in, but those of us protecting information need to make sure every door is locked. In my work, I see more and more organisations recognising the importance of continuity planning – and the field has matured considerably.
In the past, discussions were mostly focused on technology: mirrored servers, backups and similar solutions.
– That’s still important, but what I often help organisations with is thinking from a broader perspective.
