Tell us a little about yourself. What does your job at Telefónica involve?
I am currently a manager and I work in two areas. On the one hand, I am responsible for the SME SOC, where we implement and operate security projects and services aimed at small and medium-sized companies, always in an optimized and automated way and guaranteeing the highest level of efficiency for the customer. On the other hand, I manage a team that provides professional services for UTM GESTIONADO and Flexwan Industrializado.
How would you define cybersecurity?
In short, cybersecurity is a set of technologies and processes designed to protect data against threats. In addition to technology and processes, I also like to include the practices we implement to make cybersecurity more effective.
A mistake in relation to the definition I mentioned is to think that just because you have the most expensive technology on the market, you are going to be more protected, and that is not true. It is very important to put it into practice in order to get the most out of cybersecurity.
Why is it so important?
It seems like a long time ago, but when I first faced the challenges of cybersecurity for SMEs, there was a lot of ignorance in this type of company about the dangers that exist in this world. Now, today, that has changed. SMEs are becoming aware of the importance of cybersecurity to prevent them from suffering any attacks, because yes, SMEs suffer attacks on a daily basis and are the target of many cybercriminals. That is why it is important to have good awareness and, of course, to have a team behind you that knows how to manage and supervise all security.
What is its specific relevance in the business world?
Increasingly important, but that also has to be one of our goals; we have an obligation to inform the customer about what is happening, to highlight the value of each of the products they have in place to protect their business. Our responsibilities cannot be limited to monitoring, detecting, and responding to security threats and incidents. We also have to be close to the customer, as part of their company, and explain what could happen if the systems are not used properly. I repeat, we have to help them understand the importance of cybersecurity.
What are the consequences for companies that are not cyber protected?
Without good security, the impact on business can be fatal, especially for small businesses. It happens almost every day; very small companies hire our services because they have suffered an attack. A simple, seemingly harmless email, with just one click, can compromise your business.
As I was saying, we need to continue working hard to raise awareness, because sometimes we only realize the importance of good cybersecurity after we have suffered an attack.
Apart from having cybersecurity services, is it advisable for company employees to have cybersecurity training?
Yes, it is highly recommended and should be ongoing to ensure that everyone is up to date. This is the only way to ensure that people are aware of the potential dangers. Prevention is always better than cure.
We play an important role here as cybersecurity experts. We need to provide customers with as much information as possible in user-friendly language to help them identify these types of situations. For us, it is very important to be in tune with our customers in order to achieve good cybersecurity practices.
Which Telefónica employees would you nominate for this interview as excellent in their work?
Jose Luis Molina Coloma, without a doubt a leader in cybersecurity. He also taught me how to manage high-pressure situations, which are part of our daily work in this field.
