TechRepublic’s Dan Patterson spoke with LastWall’s CEO and co-founder Karl Holmqvist about the state of cybersecurity. As the head of a cybersecurity company himself, Holmqvist explained that good architecture and design are vital to protecting a company.

SEE: Cybersecurity spotlight: The ransomware battle (Tech Pro Research)

“The growth of IoT is staggering,” Holmqvist stated, the 6 or 7 billion devices that are connected right now are predicted to jump to 50 billion in the next few years. With a scale of change that monumental, businesses need to have security in the forefront of their minds, Holmqvist said.

Holmqvist emphasized the large problem companies will have if they are designing systems without security as a fundamental component. People need realize that everything will be connected eventually, from traffic lights to everyday home appliances, Holmqvist said.

“Companies should remember that cybersecurity is no longer the responsibility of just the IT people,” Holmqvist said, “everyone needs to be aware and trained.”

Holmqvist referenced the upcoming tech work shortage that is set to occur in the next 3 to 4 years. He said the burden must be distributed to everyone, not just the IT staff.

The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers

  1. Strong architecture and design are vital in creating a secure company. By designing controls into the system, companies can keep up with the rising security threats.
  2. The biggest issue is that companies are not implementing security measures from the ground up, rather, trying to make their businesses secure once an attack has already taken place.
  3. Smaller companies need to remember that cybersecurity is something that needs to be handled by everyone, not just the IT people. The whole company must be aware and trained, especially with the upcoming tech skills gap.