Simon Wilkinson
IT Security Strategist EMEA
Micro Focus
Biography
Simon Wilkinson is the Cyber & IT Security Strategist within EMEA, responsible for the thought leadership and client interaction within the Enterprise Security Products Group.
Simon joined Micro Focus with over 30 years security experience incorporating consulting, design engineering, and business leadership in both the public and private sectors.
Simon completed a successful career in the Royal Air Force where he designed and deployed secure information systems into complex and hostile environments.
He spent his forces career working in intelligence and secure settings providing information services across national and coalition environments. He was credited with leading on the provision of all the secure information services for UK forces in the Iraq conflict encompassing 7 security domains across 8 different countries.
Since leaving military service Simon has held a number of senior positions in the Technology and Security industry including EDS; HP Enterprise Services; Senior Managing Partner at Gartner for Defence & Security; and, run the cyber business in Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica). He has advised CIOs & CISOs on information services from requirement definition, implementation, programmatic oversight and delivery. Additionally, he has consulted, benchmarked and undertaken vendor selection, in various organisations, in their pursuit of achieving robust cyber protection. Simon has led business transformations; delivered cyber managed services; and, cryptographic capability-working in both national and international agencies providing commercial and public sector secure IT solutions.
He has a particular focus on security in UK government departments and has worked with the UK Home Office; Department of Work and Pensions; Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs; Foreign Office; Cabinet Office; and, a host of multinational organisations. In all cases the work has focused on addressing cyber protection from all aspects of the capability (people, process and technology).
Speech Topic & Synopses
Why is security a business issue?
Most organization have a security operation – it varies immensely according to their size; the market they are in; and, their perceived risk of attack. Many have a Security Operations Centre, some consume a service from a Managed Security Service Provider, others are reviewing security logs in slower time. The maturity of the security operation varies immensely according to the technology, people and process interaction. However, as we move from protecting Information Technology to including Operational Technology; scaled in capacity terms with the Internet of Things; the maturity continues as we move into predictive analytics, Artificial Intelligence and boundary-less networks; we have to ask why? Why do we do it? And when we realise the answer is data – to protect the data – how do we address data in technology terms?
In such a complex and dynamic environment this presentation gives an overview of the business drivers in this space and how the security technologies involved are there to drive revenue generation, cost efficiency and ensure regulatory compliancy. Significantly, how do you coherently and cost effectively bring all this together?