NEC designed and developed security framework and  continuously reviewing and improvising security posture of the organization

Preeti Kanwar 
IT Head - Chief Information Security Officer, NEC Corporation India 

Preparedness to face challenges of data security:   
In order to ensure data security, we have adopted new technologies, have established the required guidelines for users and customers and are ensuring the adherence of industry standards. Of course there are cybersecurity experts who are working round the clock to ensure all aspects of cyber security are covered at the organization level but generating awareness and sensitivity amongst the workforce is also an integral part of our way of working. Top management’s focus and seriousness is playing a very big role in managing the data security at NEC. 

To protect information assets, NEC has designed and developed the security framework and is continuously reviewing and improvising the security posture of the organization. We have our internal SOC, to keep a close eye on the on-going cyber-attacks and issues. We understand how important it is to ensure quick actions in case of even the smallest issue. 
We have positioned information security management, information security infrastructure, and information security personnel as the three pillars of the information security governance framework within the NEC Group. We invest significantly in this domain and have a dedicated team who work tirelessly to handle security aspects of the organization. We thereby maintain and improve our comprehensive and multi-layered information security. 

The best practices Adopted for remote working: 
In order to keep our daily operations running smoothly, we are ensuring that the following guidelines are met:
●    Regular appropriate cybersecurity education and awareness training for all employees
●    Implementation of required security software on laptop, desktop, official mobile phone, Tablets etc.
●    Ensure coverage of all assets for regular patch updating and regular scanning
●   24/7/365 monitoring, detection, and response capabilities for our information systems
●    Easy to follow Incident management workflow.
●    IT performance dashboard contains the security key performance indicators as well which gets monitored and reviewed closely on regular basis. 
●    Awareness amongst users to take regular backups. 
●    Regular testing of DC backup and restore
●    Implemented MFA of all critical services and data center access.
●    Implemented Z-scaler and Z-app to control internet browsing.
●    Regular updating of passwords with high complexity

role of CISOs: 
Companies need to protect not just their own intellectual property, operations and strategies, but also customer data collected during different processes, as well as conform to applicable data privacy laws. As we move into the 'Next Normal', simply introducing cybersecurity measures is not enough. It is evident from several industry reports that security breaches increased to unimaginable heights. In order to cope with more sophisticated cyber-attacks, it is essential to strengthen security measures in a planned fashion continuously that helps ensure business continuity, which is one of the most important KRAs of the CEO. In addition to maintaining an organization's security through an effective combination of various security measures, leaders are supporting continuous efforts that reduce vulnerabilities for their stakeholders. 

In my personal experience, we are increasingly focusing on keeping our data secure and risk-free.  As more and more businesses recognize cyber-related risks and the immediate need to address these, CISOs will continue to get non-technical C-suite counterparts' backing. In the end, both CEOs and CISOs have similar goals demanding increased coordination and virtual facetime.