There Are no Magic Solutions in Cyber, Says Head of Cisco Israel

When Oren Sagi, the general manager of Cisco Systems Israel, is asked why the company is still perceived as a network company and not a cybersecurity company, his answer is simple. “We help companies make their digital journey,” he said in a recent interview with Calcalist ahead of Calcalist’s cyber conference, set for Monday. “That is why Cisco prioritizes being the lead vendor of information security solutions for the journey. We are a large cybersecurity company with $4 billion in sales.”

Do customers understand the need to combine the digital journey with cybersecurity?

”Today, customers that have a Cisco infrastructure for communication use it as a sensor for the information security world and all levels come together on one platform: networks, the data center, analytics, and cyber. We live in a world of zero trust. If in the past an organization that looked for an information security solution could have stopped at a firewall, today, that is not enough: the user exists not only within the organization’s internal computer system, its app, and its data center, but also in the cloud or on mobile platforms. The old information technology model is no longer relevant.

What should be the new information security model?

The approach today is that I cannot trust the old security of a username and a password, and I need to create trust where there are new tools. Cisco bought companies in the cyber world for over $10 billion in recent years and is investing $6 billion in development to provide a solution that is a complete platform. We have a solution for network anomalies, for two-step verification, for preventing entrance of non-authorised users, and dedicated security solutions for endpoints.

Is the danger only through computing systems?

When one talks about digital transformation it is about a lot more than computers, there are internet-of-things (IoT) systems, smart cities, and security cameras that are a huge part of an organization’s array. The information security model needs to be of a process and an architecture and not just a product concept.

Does the multitude of companies create a problem for organizations?

One of the greatest challenges of defending infrastructure is the multitude of tools. How do you administer the information from all those systems? I believe the existence of one entity that has the information and manages everything is critical for the organization. We offer one easy solution. Our platform provides an answer to most cyber threats. There are no magic solutions today: it is a process, a war waged by the cybersecurity head against attackers.