Cybersecurity safety: A public and private sector shared responsibility

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In today’s interconnected world, cybersecurity threats loom large, posing significant risks to both public and private organizations. Our recent executive panel discussion brought together top minds in the field to address these challenges. The consensus? A collaborative approach between public and private sectors is essential to building a more resilient, safe, and secure digital future.

Iwona Sikora

Senior Vice President, Iron Mountain Europe

November 22, 20247 mins

I recently attended an executive panel discussion in London that brought together today’s top minds in public and private cybersecurity. The event, hosted by Iron Mountain, provided a space for leaders of major organizations to explore and navigate the complexities of modern cybersecurity challenges. The panel included Chris Inglis, former White House Cyber Czar and Deputy Director at the National Security Agency, and Sir Jeremy Fleming, former Director of GCHQ, the UK’s largest intelligence, security, and cyber agency. The discussion was led by Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani, Emmy-nominated television correspondent, award-winning podcast host, and news producer.

Much of the highly interactive discussion focused on how cybersecurity safety depends on governments, enterprises, and individuals taking action to become—and remain—resilient against threats of breaches and the damage posed by misinformation and disinformation.

The urgency for such a coalition between the public and private sectors is real and stark: organizations in the United Kingdom face a new cyberattack every 44 seconds, and cybercrime is estimated to cost £21 billion a year. Yet, according to data gathered from a recent Economist Impact survey, sponsored by Iron Mountain, while 77% of leading executives agree that risk management spans their entire organization, only a third report integrating risk management into their overall strategy or placing decision-making as a priority feature of their risk management system. These gaps exacerbate vulnerabilities and result in more opportunities for criminals and bad actors to disrupt and create havoc.

Mitigating risk: People at the core of cybersecurity

The panelists stressed that people are at the core of mitigating the risk of damage caused by cybercrime and the misuse of social media. They noted that when litigation happens, the human will go to court, not the technology; therefore, technology must be subordinate to the human. Just as software and hardware are being strengthened against attacks, roles and responsibilities must be adjusted to address risk with clearly defined accountabilities. Continual training in cyber risk, critical thinking, and emerging technologies such as quantum computing is essential to ensuring a safe environment.

Balancing innovation and security: A coordinated global effort

The role of governments in providing direction and protection through cyber and AI regulations is slowly evolving but remains splintered along geopolitical lines. One of the panelists remarked that social media is a national risk and both agreed that while generative AI regulations must provide for innovation and market forces, public safety is essential to the debate. They agreed that freedom of speech is for humans, not machines; there should be standards in place and the public should be aware of what or who is talking to us. Ultimately, for progress to be made, there must be a shift in thinking about governance to accommodate varying viewpoints across the public and private spectrum.

As the cyber and AI landscape continues to shift and disrupt, the panelists recommend that organizations make time to fully understand their digital infrastructure dependencies and identify their critical assets to “determine the crown jewels.” They also need to encourage expertise and continually educate about safety from the top down.

Building a united front: The importance of partnership and collaboration

By working together, public and private sectors can share intelligence, develop innovative solutions, and advocate for sound policies. To build a more secure cyberspace and harness the power of AI, a public-private partnership based on mutual benefits, shared responsibilities, and collective resilience against common threats is essential to the world’s well-being.

To learn more about Iron Mountain’s commitment to partnering with our customers to build cyber resilience and opportunity, visit Beyond cybersecurity: Building opportunity for a digital future.