Aviva Zacks
Safety Detective had the pleasure of interviewing Sophos Product Manager Dean Mekkaway, who helped us understand how SophosLabs stays at the forefront of cybersecurity.
Safety Detective: How did you get into cybersecurity?
Dean Mekkaway: I got into cybersecurity back in 2010 when I became interested in developing security and privacy protection for mobile devices. I eventually built a company around this concept, in which we provided security and privacy services, delivered through the cloud without impacting device performance. I’ve been immersed in cybersecurity ever since and haven’t looked back.
SD: What is the number one threat in cyberattacks today?
DM: I believe the number one threat to consumers today is the type of attacks that have monetary repercussions for the victim. The inconvenience involved with a typical destructive cyberattack is dwarfed by one that inflicts monetary loss, data loss, or both. Ransomware attacks are amongst the most prevalent form of such an attack.
SD: How can Sophos protect consumers from cyberthreats?
DM: Sophos protects consumers from cyberthreats by deploying advanced technologies that effectively protect against the most prevalent and emerging threats. Sophos deploys an advanced set of protection mechanisms that take protection beyond traditional AV. These include exploit prevention, behavioral detection and deep learning based threat protection.
SD: How can Sophos compete with the larger antivirus companies?
DM: Sophos is highly effective at competing with larger companies by constantly innovating to develop and deploy advanced technology to mitigate threats. Sophos has been at the forefront of next-gen AV capabilities, particularly through the use of deep learning to tackle unknown threats. Thanks to our global threat intelligence network, SophosLabs, Sophos is able to analyze and adapt to emerging threats on a near real-time scale.
SD: How will cybersecurity change in the next 5 years?
DM: Cybersecurity will need to continually evolve and adapt at the same pace as the threat landscape. Threats continually evolve, increase in sophistication, and target a more diverse set of devices at an incredibly rapid pace. I believe that keeping up is simply not enough. The gap in knowledge for end users that exists, not only about the need to deploy effective cybersecurity solutions but also sound security practices, must be closed.
