3 security lessons everyone should know

Why (cyber) security is vital

The average cost of security breaches so far in 2022 is 4.35 million, an increase of 2.6% compared to last year and that the total cost of cyber-crime in 2022 will reach 7 trillion worldwide. Security is a hot topic and a hotter business model for criminals. Due to its complexity, in terms of business, politics and technology, cybersecurity has become one of the most critical concerns in the modern world. Banks carry vital information and provide vital services to their customers, thus it’s imperative that robust cybersecurity is in place.

Security in the new normal

(Cyber) security is an essential pillar, not only of Rabobank, but most likely of many organizations across all industries. In the future working environment, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, this importance will only increase. And the increased remote working presents organizations with new opportunities and challenges. In order to understand these opportunities and challenges and knowing how to act on them, Rabobank organizes an annual Global Rabobank Security Conference.

The Global Rabobank Security Conference

The Global Rabobank Security Conference, which took place on 11 and 12 October, was the largest physical conference since the pandemic, and it was…fantastic! There is really nothing like connecting face-to-face that makes us, feel more alive, and connected. The Conference event venue was alive and kicking with activity and we all loved reconnecting with colleagues and speakers to learn and share knowledge; whether it was understanding the current threat landscape and our “by design” security strategies or empowering our ability to turn challenges into opportunities.

Security lessons learned

The conference gave us a lot of insights which will enable us to operate successfully and securely in the new normal. Here are our 3 biggest take-aways:

1. When we are better connected, we are better protected!

This was the first learning of the 2-day conference that drew a huge crowd online and on-site of industry leaders and internal specialists, to discuss all things security. We are all globally connected in ways that keep evolving, economics, finance, supply chains, global communities and digital societies. Many speakers discussed at length how we emerged from the pandemic into an increasingly digitalised world of work to realising that people are at the centre of cyber security. Technology supports us and allows us to move forward but people are still at the core of it all. We urged each other to consider how we are connected and how we could connect more in the coming years from productivity to culture, from skills to collaborative partnerships. If you connect it, you should protect it we heard from one speaker and this hit the nail on the head, when you think of the bigger picture that we are all a part of. Thus, during the two days we really celebrated this effort and our communities in a conscious movement to make the (Rabo) world a smaller but more empowered place.

2. Security is a hot topic and a hotter business model for criminals

The costs of breaches are immense and will only continue to rise. Criminal organisations even operate support chat helpdesks to assist victims with how to pay their ransom. Cybersecurity is changing how we do business. In business (and in life) there will always be risks, but if we know what risks to be aware of, we can better arm ourselves for the future. That's what security is all about, an ongoing process of becoming safer. To help us with this, we learned about outside views and inside practices, we learnt about new and advanced data, tech and insights from supply chains to KYC, from the metaverse to cyberwarfare, from learning the rules of the digital highway from the national police to hacking demonstrations – we did it all!

3. Transparency, cooperation and sharing

It was clear from start to finish of the Conference that transparency, cooperation and sharing are vital to our professional and personal lives. From the first speaker to our last, this sentiment was woven throughout, highlighting the value of partnering with different skills sets to ensure we always see beyond our own situation and use different capabilities to develop our resilience posture for the future. Talents can be developed rather than being innate or what we studied for, and varying perspectives keep us fresh and ahead of the game. By the end of the conference, it really hit home that there’s a growing understanding that these 3 elements can help us build robust security cultures and foster key operational drives like collaboration and innovation.

In summary…

The Global Rabobank Security Conference was worth the wait after so long behind the screen and made security resonate through the whole organisation. From the feedback we gathered on site and after sessions, there was a clear sense that everybody took part in not only learning useful knowledge to share with others, but truly enjoyed connecting with colleagues and experts on this topic. We appreciated the now well-developed ability to connect with our colleagues around the globe that tuned in for the event. After all, people coming together and sharing insights and ideas and putting connecting and protecting at the centre, is what this security conference was all about.

We've learned a lot that will help us to operate successfully and securely in the new normal, and we hope by sharing these lessons, we can also help you. We’re looking forward to next year already and to inviting more external industry specialists to take part and join as guests. See you there!