Organisations across the region are grappling with a dramatically expanded digital attack surface and, as Digital Transformation initiatives continue, it\u2019s important that CIOs know where the threats are coming from and how to keep them at bay. Perry Hutton, Regional Vice President \u2013 Africa at Fortinet, tells us how Fortinet\u2019s Virtual Security Day, being held this month, will give customers and partners an overview of the key trends and challenges facing Africa\u2019s CxOs right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are businesses in Africa digitally transforming?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital innovations are changing the way we do business, go about activities, manufacture goods, communicate and more. Organisations across Africa are moving to innovate digitally, there\u2019s no question about it. However, there are 55 countries \u2013 and therefore 55 different advancement rates \u2013 across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Africa we still have far less Internet connectivity across the masses than anywhere else, with less than a third of people<\/a> having broadband access. This is behind much of the rest of world and is a real challenge to being able to take advantage of what technology has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reliable power and the cost of Internet access are also challenges experienced across Africa, impacting the pace of digital innovation throughout economies \u2013 from financial services, manufacturing and retail, through to healthcare and public service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are there any particular unique threats in this region that security teams are grappling with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As emerging economies, organisations across Africa may face increased security and business risks, and are lagging behind the more first world economies in terms of risk management. Africa is different and we do face a unique set of challenges as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have driven a sudden change in the priorities of organisations around the world \u2013 and Africa is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortinet\u2019s 2020 Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Report<\/em>, released this month, reveals that organisations now have a dramatically expanded digital attack surface with nearly two-thirds reporting<\/a> an increase in breach attempts and, as a result, over 90% plan<\/a> to invest more to secure remote workforces over the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A total of 32% of respondents<\/a> found secure connectivity to be the most challenging aspect of switching to remote work and around 75% are planning to invest in VPN, cloud security and network access control technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How important is visibility for managing these risks?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line is \u2013 visibility is paramount. If you aren\u2019t aware of the risks and you can\u2019t identify and understand them, you can\u2019t even attempt to manage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What best practice advice would you offer CISOs looking for a more holistic security strategy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gone are the days where you can try addressing security in a piecemeal manner. The CISO must be able to manage the entire environment and strategy from a single pane of glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where the Fortinet Security Fabric comes in, giving CISOs the ability to leverage the Fortinet portfolio, complemented by a vast choice of technologies from different vendors into a single platform, simplifying control and delivering visibility across the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What can those attending your Virtual Security Day expect?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although COVID-19 has presented challenges in communicating with the market, it has also been the catalyst to bring more people together virtually and this Virtual Security Day is a first for Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It will give customers and partners an overview of the key trends and challenges facing Africa\u2019s CIOs, CEOs and CISOs right now. Featuring strategy-focused plenary sessions, deep dive technology tracks and channel tracks, this event will present thought leadership, the latest technology insights and business development information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the plenary session, experts will cover the need for accelerated security for accelerated digitisation, security as a business enabler and trends in AI-enabled security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The technology sessions will address developments in cloud, SD-WAN and SASE, OT, EDR, Zero Trust models and security operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For channel partners and potential partners, a dedicated channel track will outline how to grow a SMB security footprint with Fortinet, building a renewal and expansion strategy, why partners should specialise, deal registration, the value of the partner portal and current promotions. The day will round off with Fortinet\u2019s regional channel awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are the benefits of joining this particular event?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By hosting this as a virtual event, Fortinet is now able to give tens of thousands of delegates from across Africa a taste of our hugely popular Accelerate partner events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortinet\u2019s global customer and partner events are renowned for keeping attendees up to date with the latest threat trends, solutions and information security business opportunities. This virtual event will be no different and is in fact enhanced by the fact that its virtual nature allows us to hear content from a larger number of expert international presenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of key interest to Africa\u2019s CIOs and CISOs will be Fortinet\u2019s progress in integrating Artificial Intelligence<\/a> into cybersecurity to improve prevention, detection and response capabilities and address the alarming lack of cybersecurity experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will also focus SD-WAN and how it\u2019s transforming wide area networks as well as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)<\/a>, an emerging framework designed to integrate networking and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While SASE is generally classified as a cloud-delivered service, we will outline Fortinet\u2019s approach, outlining situations where organisations may require a combination of physical and cloud-based solutions for SASE to work effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are your plans for the region over the coming months?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To demonstrate our commitment to Africa, Fortinet has continued growing its workforce across the continent throughout the pandemic and we will continue to work to ensure we are equipped to support our customers in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our recent 2020 Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Report <\/em>indicated that remote work is likely to remain in place indefinitely \u2013 with 29% of organisations expecting<\/a> more than 50% of their employees to continue remote working after the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortinet will focus on helping customers overcome the challenges of securing this new work from home environment, enabling Business Continuity, while at the same time simplifying management and control of security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n