Security is a crucial aspect for any business according to Asmah Othman during the T-Systems Industry Talk held at Limkokwing University on 26 October 2017.
“Security is everyone’s responsibility,” Asmah said to students from the Faculty of Information & Communication Technology.
The T-Systems ITO Security and Compliance Manager has 15 years working experience in MNC (Multinational Corporation) and 10 years’ experience in IT Security implementation and governance. Asmah is certified in ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) and COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) standards.
She began her career as a UNIX administrator before focusing her attention on IT security. She is responsible for ensuring security requirements are met for T-Systems customers.
During the industry talk, Asmah emphasized the importance of ICT security as cyberattacks are becoming more common causing companies to become paralysed due to weak IT infrastructure.
“Security measures is one of the most important aspects of running any business,” she said while showcasing various types of malware, ransomware, trojans and computer viruses that could affect businesses.
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Asmah explained that as an ICT security specialist, they would need to learn to recognise various threats and dangers before it happens and prepare for other potential risks.
She presented case studies on how viruses and hackers could disrupt businesses. At the same time, Asmah also provided measures on how they could protect themselves and prevent financial losses and loss of productivity.
“People are more connected and that is where it becomes more data focused,” she said. “If you look at the today’s trends, big data, digitisation, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) are the buzzwords.”
“Because of this, there are more threats on the network and it becomes more important for ICT security to be ready before it happens.”
“Hackers are getting smarter so the real challenge is being a step ahead of them,” she added. “We need to prepare and detect the threat before it happens.”
After completing her talk, Asmah emphasised the importance of industry exposure for students pursuing a career in the ICT industry.
“IT technology is really fast,” she added. “By the time a student graduates, the knowledge they gained would already been obsolete with new technology being introduced.”
“Students should prepare for these challenges by being open-minded and ready to learn new things,” Asmah explained. She added that students at Limkokwing have the advantage of multicultural exposure which would help them to compete in a globalised industry.