He warns that 43% of cyber attacks worldwide are aimed at SMEs; This problem is especially “big” in the case of countries such as Spain, where a large part of the productive structure consists of small and medium-sized companies. Interview with EFE. Google executive and cybersecurity expert Cristina Pitarch.
It is estimated that Spain is exposed to nearly 30,000 cyber attacks a year and SMEs are the weakest link. target seven out of ten of these attacks. Cybercriminals prefer to attack smaller, anonymous companies because they don’t have as many security measures and their systems are much more vulnerable.
Pitarch, Google Cloud Security’s general manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said this issue affects all of Europe, but A special event in countries like Italy or Spain, In an environment dominated by SMEs: “Spain has a big problem in this sense because our society, our economy, is based on small and medium-sized companies.”
The expert underlines the importance of SMEs to be aware of the need to improve their digital security, as the cost of these attacks is very high. Some of these companies are in danger of closing.
lack of awareness
Vicente Diaz, He is a threat intelligence strategist at VirusTotal, a company founded in Malaga in 2004 and owned by Google since 2012. He explains to EFE that although SMEs have tools available to them, they often do not have enough budget to deal with cyber attacks. improving their protection without having to make a large investment.
For him, it’s less a matter of economic resources and more of a lack of awareness: “Maybe it’s as simple as saying ‘let’s buy it’.” chromebox for everyone and connect to a cloud service’ and with that we already handle 90% of attacks”.
“You can do many things, but if you don’t have the awareness or knowledge of what you can do, “They will never implement this,” he said. Díaz emphasizes:
Pitarch, who is both this expert and also the general manager History For the European market, they note that cybercriminals are indiscriminately attacking companies across all sectors, but banking is perhaps the sector making the “most noise” due to its regulations and characteristics.
“In fact, this is a democratic problem. It affects everyone almost the same way“Highlight two experts from Google who opened the new Security Engineering Center (GSEC) in Malaga this week, adding to these two features that the company already has. Dublin (Ireland) and Munich (Germany).
Cristina Pitarch celebrates that citizens’ concerns about cyber security have increased in recent years and hopes that this situation will improve keep improving Thanks to the work of companies and institutions.
“There is awareness Two years ago there were none and it will continue to increase. “I think we have a great obligation to further raise this awareness,” the director said, emphasizing that Google “takes very seriously creating an environment that will enable the public to understand what the dangers are and how to act.”
The role of artificial intelligence
Vicente Díaz argues that artificial intelligence (AI) can be a great ally in cybersecurity. It is already used, for example, analyzing large amounts of data and detecting cyber threats more quickly and accurately.
According to the VirusTotal report, artificial intelligence can detect 70% more malicious code fragments. traditional tools It is up to 300% more accurate than these techniques in detecting attempts to attack individual and common vulnerable devices.
“Anything that helps us avoid this and gives the analyst more time to focus on what’s important, positive step“, indicates the strategist.
Pitarch confirms his words and sees artificial intelligence as a technology “very positive” for cybersecurity: “I think this will help us defend ourselves rather than help attackers attack us.” stands out.
The directive emphasizes that: Google “He has a very strong commitment to AI security.” He said that his aim is to make artificial intelligence, where cooperation between companies and administrations is essential, “not making a difference, helping the world, and being responsible”.
Europe is looking for professionals
Another problem that worries Google is the talent shortage in the technology sector. If they were needed in 2021 2 million According to data from security experts around the world, this number will already reach 2.5 million in 2022.
This gap is increasing every year because the sector is growing much faster than education. More and more centers and universities Díaz says they are educating young people on this issue.
Announcing its commitment to invest this week, Google’s management underlines the statement, “We are committed to training talent in many aspects, not just at the university.” $10 million (approximately 9.13 million euros) Educating students on cybersecurity across Europe, where approximately 500,000 professionals are needed.
Also featured by Cristina Pitarch low female presence “Very few” in this field, where only 20% of graduates are women.
“This is one of the tasks we havehelps provide greater visibility “It shows what the world of cybersecurity is like, which is in some ways very dark and people don’t think that this is a place where a woman can have a productive career,” explain the masters and middle school students who are determined to bring the field closer to the first so it can be fun and for everyone. They may find that it might be appropriate.