PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
This week InfoSec Europe 2015 took place once again in London, and the overriding message seemed to be how security desperately needs to become simplified.
Gone are the days of attaching add-on after add-on of additional security products in the hope that you’ll keep the bad guys out and your important data safe.
“Single points of protect are failing, and will continue to. What we need to do is find a way to join all the components that people have in their environments,” James Lyne, global head of research at Sophos, told IT Channel Expert at the show.
“So many organisations now have complex solutions that they don’t know how to work or lots of bits here and there. The only way the security industry can react to the lower profile malware we’re currently seeing is to tie together end point antivirus, data protection technology, and encryption technology.
“By combining them we’re going to be able to do some really interesting things.”
We also spoke to Bitdefender’s regional sales director for the UK and Ireland, Jamie Pearce, who explained how end users now need software solutions that can encompass all the devices that are used within a company, rather than separate products for desktop, mobile, and virtual machines.
“Bitdefender has been around for over a decade and we always focussed on end-point protection – protecting physical servers and desktops,” he said.
“About four or five years ago that changed in to a need to protect a virtual environment. We’ve now launched our next generation product, GavityZone, that is one product that has one single console that will now manage and protect your additional physical end points, your virtual infrastructure, and also mobile devices – Android and iOS.
“The solutions today need to be all-encompassing to go physical, virtual and mobile, and be very simple to manage.”
We also spoke to cloud-based identity management software provider Centrify, which echoed these ideas when it comes to making sure employees keep company data safe. The firm stressed that with the increase in BYOD and remote working, the ability to access personal and work apps and documents is a must, but this can bring about a number of security problems.
“With the solution that we offer, you can access whatever you like, from Facebook to Salesforce and know that all of your personal data and company data is safe,” said Matt Pearson, Centrify’s EMEA channel director.
“We act like a CCTV on your shoulder. So company’s will always know what is gone wrong.”
Many security companies seemed to be in agreement that it is inevitable that mobile and personal devices will soon become one and BYOD and remote working will continue to increase in popularity. The resounding message was that rather than fighting that, they need to provide simple solutions to combat the new issues these workplace trends bring.
Despite this unified message between exhibitors, one person disagreed. IT security veteran John McAfee, known for his outrageous comments, declared that work and personal devices must be separated otherwise there will be ‘no hope’ for security.
