“With Blue Coat and Symantec combined, our customer is getting two amazing sets of threat telemetry and innovation,” Symantec CEO Greg Clark said during his opening keynote at Spotlight LA. “What we’re doing today is helping to move the needle forward.”
The recent Symantec Spotlight event in Los Angeles reinforced the company’s commitment to defining the future of cyber security for customers, partners, and the industry. Symantec Spotlight provides a unique opportunity to hear insights directly from Symantec leadership and other industry luminaries.
Symantec SVP and CIO Sheila Jordan opened Spotlight LA and welcomed the audience for a day filled with thought-provoking keynotes, interactive breakout sessions, and hands-on experience alongside industry leaders. After a short, high-energy welcome, Jordan introduced CEO Greg Clark to the stage for his keynote presentation.
Blue Coat and Symantec = The Power of Combined Intelligence and Innovation
Data is everywhere today with users coming from different access points. Data encryption is key. However, cyber criminals are now deploying malware to hide in encryption. What’s happening now is that malware is multi-staged, explained Clark, which overall makes it harder to detect.
“Long term,” warned Clark, “this is going to get worse. Your security vendor needs to be good at a few things. However, not all vendors are good at everything. To fight this malware you need to fight all these different pieces.”
With all the advanced cyber threats, Clark explained why organizations need a security partner that has a good investment in the cyber security landscape. “In the ten weeks since we put Blue Coat and Symantec together, the results have brought 300,000 new detections everyday,” shared Clark.
Clark, who has a deep engineering background, admits to often reading source code to get a better understanding. “At Symantec, we care about tradecraft; we want to see source codes and want to see what’s being developed and how it’s being used,” said Clark.
Five Converging Trends
Symantec SVP and CIO Sheila Jordan returned to the stage and summarized the key trends driving the explosion of information. “Everything has changed massively in the last five years,” explained Jordan at the start of her keynote. “CIOs must protect their companies’ most important asset—data.”
Jordan shared her insights on the five trends that are converging: mobility, cloud applications, data, identities, and the Internet of Things.
“What’s the common thread? It’s the data that’s moving between all these trends,” noted Jordan, who explained how Symantec sits in the center and protects this data in transit.
Jordan explained how organizations can secure their data architecture, and shared best practice on how organizations can protect data wherever it lives.
Securing the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Jordan introduced a panel that included Rio 2016 Technology Director Elly Resende and Symantec Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Peter Hancock who discussed Symantec’s role as the official Rio Olympics security partner.
“What does it mean to really protect the Olympics?” Jordan asked her panelists.
Rio Olympics Technology Director Resende explained it was a daunting task to digitally secure the 2016 Olympics with over 15,000 athletes (and their medical records); 8 million ticket holders and the logistical challenges that come with such huge attendance numbers; and a staff of 7,000 people just working with technology. “The scope was huge and we had to plan very well,” said Resende.
Symantec’s Peter Hancock explained how Symantec worked with the Rio Olympics technology teams to push all the procedures to the limit. Technical rehearsals were conducted with the creation of problem scenarios and preparation tests to see how strong the defenses were.
And the results?
“We had zero incidents hit the 2016 Rio Olympics,” said Hancock. “We were the first cyber security defense organization for the Olympics, which is also a historic achievement.”
Futurist Marc Goodman
The final keynote session was presented by author and futurist Marc Goodman, who talked about a massive paradigm shift and the digitalization of crime. He explained that as technology advances, so do criminals. “With Moore’s Law, comes more outlaws,” explained Goodman. He also talked about how criminals are coordinating on a vast scale, and explained how cyber crime is now a service—like software as a service (SaaS).
On future horizons, Goodman commented how cyber crime is becoming three-dimensional, as connected devices through the expansion of IoT are now offering ways for criminals to hack these devices. Connected cars, medical devices, manufacturing equipment, and connected appliances are all becoming targets for cyber criminals.
“The Internet of Things is what I like to refer to as the ‘Internet of Things…to be hacked,'” warned Goodman.
Symantec’s Commitment to Defining the Future of Cyber Security
Overall, the opening keynote presentations and panels at Spotlight LA helped set the tone for the day’s compelling content, which featured interactive breakout sessions hosted by Symantec executives and experts. It was a privilege to be a part of Symantec Spotlight LA and hear directly from Symantec leadership how we are, in fact, leading the industry and working with our customers and partners to shape cyber security for future generations.