|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Essential CXO: Why growing influence requires growing expertise
Kavitha Mariappan, EVP, Customer Experience & Transformation, Zscaler
I had the pleasure of kicking off 2025 in Boca Raton alongside a group of incredible leaders at our Women in IT and Security CXO Summit. Part technical bootcamp, part inspiration for the year ahead, the event was 100% an opportunity to build community and enhance attendees' understanding of zero trust principles.
In discussing our theme of “Securing the Digital Enterprise with Al and Zero Trust,” we covered some of the mega trends disrupting the industry – mobility, IoT, cloud, AI – and how they are changing the formula for success in IT and security. As adoption of new capabilities becomes essential for business enablement, the role of CXOs in positioning their organizations for success continues to grow.
Or, as I put it during my opening keynote, technology and security leaders are finally the cool kids at the table.
From business executives to the board, leadership today understands the critical nature of our work like perhaps never before. Taking advantage of our newfound clout requires staying at the forefront of trends propelling us forward, using all of the business intelligence and decision-making data at our departments’ collective fingertips.
With growing influence come growing expectations. While IT and cyber leaders could once sit comfortably in silos, confident in our own narrow expertise, today there is increasing overlap between IT and security – and the business as a whole. As leaders like NOV's Patricia Gonzalez-Clark understand, we must be the source of cost savings, a better employee experience, and guardians against threat actors.
So I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who made the 2025 Women in IT & Security CXO Summit a success – too many to name here – by offering up their technical expertise, career lessons, and hard-won wisdom with their peers.
Read my complete event recap here.
If you’re looking for your next opportunity to connect with fellow leaders pushing the boundaries of IT and security, I encourage you to register for an upcoming CXO Exchange. We would be honored for you to join us in Fort Lauderdale on February 20-21 or Lisbon on April 10-11.
|
|
|
| |
From the Office of the CTO:
Prioritizing critical infrastructure to ensure national security and citizen safety
Hansang Bae, Public Sector CTO, Zscaler
In a “major incident,” state-sponsored hackers recently breached the Department of Treasury’s computer security guardrails and gained access to unclassified documents. This follows a tumultuous year, where government officials have continuously sounded the alarm over the cyber dangers posed by adversaries against the government and most notably our critical infrastructure.
Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology has urged the incoming administration to prioritize building a framework for minimum cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure organizations and stated, “we must have minimum regulations across critical infrastructure, because if our pipelines and our ports leave their digital doors and windows open, then it’s too easy.”
The latest breach, while alarming, is not an isolated incident. Government agencies and critical infrastructure organizations face cyber threats daily. To address this reality, agencies and organizations must draw lessons from such attacks, heed expert recommendations, such as Anne Neuberger’s, and develop a comprehensive plan to strengthen their security efforts and contain future attacks.
Three strategies for enhancing critical infrastructure cybersecurity
|
|
|
|
|
Editor's Picks & Events
The end of one year and the start of the next is a good time for reflection on how the world has changed and the direction of travel so we can prepare accordingly. Based on countless conversations I have had with business, IT, and cybersecurity leaders around the world, and drawing on the expertise of my colleagues across Zscaler, I have come up with four predictions that I believe CEOs need to keep front-of-mind in the year ahead.
Learn what to expect in IT & security over the year ahead
|
Last October, SpaceX made history by successfully catching its Super Heavy rocket in a pair of robotic arms known as “chopsticks.” This seminal achievement, seen as a major step toward making spaceflight more economically feasible and repeatable, was made possible not by adding complexity to the most advanced rockets the world has ever seen, but by stripping it away. CISOs should take note.
What CISOs can learn from Space X about simplicity and security
|
Despite never-ending data breaches and ransomware attacks, too many companies still rely on the outdated "trust but verify" cybersecurity strategy. This approach assumes that any user or device inside a company's network can be trusted once it has been verified. The approach has clear weaknesses: Many businesses are putting themselves at additional risk by verifying once, then trusting forever.
Why zero trust doesn't mean zero testing
|
If your organization is using generative AI, you may want to widen your cybersecurity purview. Like the risks of any cloud software supply chain, it is often hard to understand or predict downstream threats to cybersecurity that originate in the AI software supply chain. Many vulnerabilities can originate in your second or third-tier software supplier and go undetected until it is too late.
Responding to AI supply chain risks
|
CXO Exchanges offer the opportunity to gather with peers in world-class destinations for thought-provoking keynotes, interactive breakouts, and the chance to interact with Zscaler leadership. Elevate your executive strategy and forge new connections by joining us in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 20-21 or Lisbon, Portugal on April 10-11. We look forward to seeing you there.
Learn more and register
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe on YouTube: 
Follow us on Twitter: 
