The next world war will be a cyber war, and it may have already begun

Monica Verma, Chief Information Security Officer, leads Security and Risk Management in Financial Services, for both in-house and for TietoEVRY’s customers. She believes we will only see rising levels of criminal activity, attacks and corporate destruction through cyber threats.

Monica was named Security Advisor of the Year in 2019. She is passionate about technology and security, both at work and in the home, and has been interested in these areas for a long time!

Monica thinks we are already engaged in a cyberwar of sorts, and although an immediate physical destruction in not visible necessarily, it can be just as dangerous as conventional warfare. In worst case it can lead to loss of human life, particularly where Information Technology - IT and Operational Technology - OT converge.

Monica is not the only woman who has had success in her field.

“In a way, this new type of cyber war has already started. It is not as physical or visible as conventional warfare, but we are seeing an upward trend of advanced cyber attacks targeting countries and governments. Cyber warfare does not necessarily lead to bombs, but it can be just as catastrophic for national economies and societies,” she says.  

At the age of 10, Monica developed an interest in technology and started exploring it shortly afterwards. She learned to program and quickly understood that whatever we develop can also be hacked and misused to inflict harm on both the business community and society.

“I am interested in how technology and security can be interconnected to support the financial services sector and society. I am also deeply involved in showing women how exciting this field is. That’s why I am a member of the steering committee of Women in Cybersecurity Norway (WiCy Norway), which aims to create a national network to support and encourage more women to choose a career in the security industry.”

Monica’s interest has only increased and resulted in her very active involvement in the security environment today. In addition to her membership of WiCy Norway, she also gives several lectures on security.

At present, security not only directly impacts the business community but society as well. Security leaders and experts are responsible for supporting businesses and society.

“As professionals, we must support businesses and society by taking a proactive approach. It is important to be prepared, anticipate the potential chaos and be resilient,” Monica confirms.

Do you wonder how you can succeed in cyber security?

Monica thinks that being proactive is the key to winning such a war. This will be decisive in determining whether a cyber threat is detected in one day or a hundred days.

“This is the present situation we are facing, which is why it is crucial for us to talk about it in boardrooms, offices and schools. We need to engage the next generation with diverse backgrounds in order to whet their appetite and passion for cybersecurity. They will be our next cyber soldiers, so they must be prepared for the next great cyberwar.”

At TietoEVRY, we are interested in security to prepare businesses for the modern threats we are currently facing. We want to provide customers with the support and strength they need to defend themselves against cyber threats. As a genuine security expert and enthusiast, Monica offers three simple pieces of advice for your business to arm it slightly better armed against cyber threats:

1. Simplify 
   Information security and cybersecurity are complex fields. Overly complicated security models are not necessarily the most successful. It is important to use what you are capable of and not get in over your head. The goal should be to make sure that security processes are seamlessly integrated with core business processes and automated to the greatest extent possible.
2. Focus 
   Security is a journey, not a destination. Foolproof security does not exist. Therefore, it is important for a company to choose its areas of focus on the basis of important cyber risks, threats and areas that can affect its business.
3. Implement
   Implementation is crucial to any security defence. To ensure this:

• Cybersecurity must become a topic in both the boardroom and the copy room.

• A cyber strategy needs to be transformed from reactive to proactive; from incident management to cyber resilience.