Ben Carr Chats about 2021 and the Evolving Role of the CISO

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Every year around this time, tech and cybersecurity media take a look back at the year that is winding down, and experts and pundits make predictions about the year ahead. It is a holiday tradition.

From a cybersecurity perspective, it generally feels like the holiday we are celebrating is Ground Hog’s Day, though. You could take the recap articles and prognostications from almost any year and switch them with another without really losing anything. This year, however, is unique. This time last year, nobody had “Global pandemic shuts down the world and forces companies to embrace remote work” on their 2020 bingo cards, and predictions for 2021 take on a unique perspective when you consider that we will (hopefully) be emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and returning to something approaching normal–but that the “new normal” will not look anything like the normal we left behind.

Ben Carr, CISO of Qualys, joins me on this episode to chat about these things. We talk about the dramatic acceleration of digital transformation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cybersecurity challenges it has introduced. We also talk about the changing role of the CISO, and the fact that what was once largely seen as a scapegoat position–someone given no real budget or authority to address issues, but expected to take the fall when a breach or compromise occurred–has slowly achieved more respect and credibility in the C-Suite and plays a much more vital role in business operations today.

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