{"id":92149,"date":"2020-10-29T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T16:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/security\/blog\/\/?p=92149"},"modified":"2023-05-15T23:11:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T06:11:44","slug":"unilever-ciso-on-balancing-business-risks-with-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/security\/blog\/2020\/10\/29\/unilever-ciso-on-balancing-business-risks-with-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Unilever CISO on balancing business risks with cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine showing up to work every day knowing that your job requires protecting 160,000 employees creating more than 450 products around the world\u2014tea, ice cream, personal care, laundry and dish soaps\u2014across a customer base of more than two and a half billion people every day. Unilever Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Bobby Ford<\/a> embraces the challenge, summing up his proactive approach this way: \u201cI believe the responsibility of our group\u2014the cybersecurity risk management group\u2014is to enable the business to take risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this episode of \u201cThe Shiproom\u201d <\/a>I talk with Bobby about striking that balance between risk versus business needs, along with some of his strategies for protecting Unilever\u2019s global workforce. We also discuss the ongoing challenges of communication and collaboration between the business and security sides of an organization. \u201cI’m not the captain of the \u2018no\u2019 police,” Bobby explains. \u201cRecognizing that the organization has to take risks\u2014that’s what it means to be in business.\u201d<\/p>\n

On managing those risks, Bobby provides a useful metaphor: \u201cFor me, a mature cybersecurity strategy happens at the intersection of business intelligence and threat intelligence.\u201d We discuss what constitutes threat intelligence, and why it\u2019s important to maintain an ongoing conversation between business and security\u2014so that decisions aren\u2019t made in a vacuum.<\/p>\n

Bobby also addresses the importance of diversity in the workplace, including \u201cdiversity of thought\u201d and why a diverse workforce makes for better security. \u201cThe simplest answer is that the adversary is diverse. It’s hard to combat and defend against a diverse opponent when you lack diversity [on your team].\u201d<\/p>\n

We also discuss British food, arm wrestling, the Queen, shampoo, quesadillas, wombats, and more. Check out the whole discussion on:<\/p>\n