Stronger Together—RSA 2023

The theme for RSA this year was stronger together, sending a message that, as an industry, we must have a united front to beat the bad actors that target our organizations. Taking advantage of being around peers who may have the same or different experiences and opinions enables us to think differently to achieve a common goal.

There were three hot topics that circulated during the conference and had a part in almost every discussion on the show floor: XDR, AI and cyber insurance.

XDR—An Evolution in Cybersecurity

XDR was definitely one, if not the, hot topic at the show. Ignited by Cisco’s big announcement of XDR integration, the topic was everywhere. As I attended sessions and walked the expo hall, XDR was a common theme.

With other vendors like Palo and Microsoft also heading down the XDR path, it’s evident that being able to collect data across various technology stacks and use that information to detect, hunt and respond to threats is what the next-generation cybersecurity solutions will try to do. It felt great knowing that we at Calian are doing something right as we’ve worked towards building and delivering a platform and solution that emphasize the extensibility of the “X” and the robust response recovery in the “R.”

AI—Understanding the Risks and Challenges in Cybersecurity

Another key topic was artificial intelligence. I would suspect largely due to the launch of ChatGPT earlier this year, artificial intelligence is IT’s water cooler conversation of the day. While the rest of the world has embraced the capabilities and wonders of ChatGPT, the IT and cybersecurity industry share a common understanding of the risks and challenges it presents. Taking this water cooler conversation to the forefront of the conference enabled organizations to socialize their “combat AI playbook” with peers and subject matter experts across the industry.

Cyber Insurance—Lessons Learned

Cyber insurance has garnered a lot of interest from organizations over the past few years, and rightfully so with the increase in ransomware. But just as with any new trending service or solution, there is an opportunity to learn and improve. In this case, insurance companies have learned a lot along the way and were able to bring some of those learnings and improvements to RSA.

Three key learnings were discussed. One involved the misinformation that is generated by the media when explaining why a certain incident is not covered by insurance. Another was that policies from five years ago just won’t give you the coverage you need today. And the third was that the selection and purchase of insurance does not solely lie within IT—rather it should include stakeholders, such as executives and general counsel, to ensure all requirements are met with the new policy. Learning these three lessons has enabled me to take action back at the office to ensure our insurance policies and our customers are on point.

There’s no question that RSA is the premier show globally for cybersecurity, and attending did not disappoint. There was something for everyone looking to sharpen their knowledge of cybersecurity, understand the next evolution of the industry, or seek out solutions and services that can help you protect your organization today and into the future. I was left feeling both inspired and better prepared to support my customers’ cyber challenges. See you next year RSA!