- The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a unique set of cybersecurity challenges.
- Industry unicorn Darktrace is working hard to tackle new threats as they appear.
- We asked CEO Poppy Gustafsson to share her thoughts on the road ahead in 2021.
As the world faces down unprecedented pressure almost a year on from the outbreak of COVID-19, cybersecurity experts say the pandemic will continue to bring unique threats and vulnerabilities for businesses fending off attacks in 2021.
Hackers are capitalizing on the pandemic by exploiting people’s uncertainties to get their attention and trick them into handing over credentials through phishing schemes, which are the most commonly used hacking tactic.
Insider asked Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of British cybersecurity unicorn Darktrace, to share her thoughts on what the year ahead will hold for her industry.
“The theme of 2020 has been uncertainty. In a post-Covid world we will see an amalgam of uncertainty and opportunity, and the challenge will be to balance new opportunities with new risks,” she said.
“The old ways of doing security have gone out the window and the urgent problem for businesses to tackle in 2021 will be ensuring they have best in class technology to defend their organization.”
Founded in 2014, Darktrace is one of the UK's hottest startups, with many speculating the firm could go public as soon as spring 2021.
"Focus now is more important than ever. When your business is moving fast and the world is moving fast around you, you have to be laser-focused on what's right in front of you," says Gustafsson.
"Personally, I'm focused on two key business challenges: maintaining a company culture of an ambitious, driven and dedicated workforce in a socially distanced world, and ensuring that we keep our eyes on innovating with, and ahead of, customer needs in a world that is constantly in flux.
"At several points throughout the pandemic I have taken a step back, paused and asked myself: 'Are we still delivering what the customer wants?'
"In many ways, this comes down to one key principle: Keep a short list and do it well."
