International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM)’s announcement this week that its new security lineup includes a strategic partnership with endpoint cybersecurity leader, Carbon Black, signifies a realization that growing endpoint security issues demand innovative solutions.
Benzinga spoke with Carbon Black co-founder and chief security strategist, Ben Johnson who discussed the important synergy this partnership creates moving forward for Big Blue and for Carbon Black.
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Benzinga: Why is endpoint security so important in the first place?
Ben Johnson: Endpoint security is a hot topic right now and the reason is people. Employees who sit at their laptops are vulnerable. Even though companies have a perimeter and a firewall, it’s kind of like the bad guys are throwing a pass over your defense.
Companies have more employees out there, working on laptops in coffee shops, at home and at business meetings so the perimeter is basically gone. Because of this, companies have to rethink their endpoint strategy.
BZ: A recent study you sponsored, indicated 85 percent of CIOs admit they're not being proactive about this problem but not all that concerned. How do you explain that discrepancy?
Johnson: (laughs) I cannot explain it. When those stats came out, it shocked me. A lot of CIOs thought that within 24 hours of a breach, they could have a full understanding of really the scope of what happened.
I’m like, “24 hours?” Try 24 weeks! And that’s probably optimistic.
BZ: Which sort of begs the question – how do you convince enterprise to engage in something they don’t seem to be interested in to begin with?
Johnson: I think a few things are working in our favor to start to change the tide. Media coverage certainly helps. You’re seeing more mainstream news about security breaches.
Policy and new law requires disclosure of certain types of compromise or breach within a certain amount of time. In Europe they say, “You have to tell us within 24 hours or we’re going to take up to 4 percent of your revenue.” That’s significant.
Even though the survey was disheartening, I think most of the discussions I have, people get it. It’s less about the need to do something and more about, “What do I do first?”
BZ: How does the partnership with IBM move the mission forward?
Johnson: We’re extremely excited to partner with Big Blue. A lot of people look to IBM for many aspects of their technology. They have a lot of trust built up over decades. By partnering with us, their customers get the advantage of the blending of multiple products with someone like us who is fast moving and agile.