Every human endeavor carries risk. So does economic activity, because there are always people ready to guard what they did not create and did not own. Digital technology opens doors to wealth creation, yet it also unveils new avenues for crime. Cybersecurity has become essential. It matters to the economy, with losses measured in trillions of dollars—about 6 trillion today and projected to reach 11 trillion by 2025, a magnitude that dwarfs the entire GDP of some nations.
Xabier Mitxelena serves as Iberia Security Lead at Accenture. He argues that confronting cybercrime requires more than technical tools; it demands a shift in mindset. Goods and services should be envisioned as safe from the outset, not only protected after they exist. This means considering the entire ecosystem in which a company operates, including suppliers and customers, not just the organization itself. The human element stands out as the most vulnerable link, and Mitxelena emphasizes that larger corporations have largely embraced these ideas, while many major but not top-tier companies still have significant progress to make.
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Industrial Engineer Mitxelena, who studied at the University of Navarra and earned an MBA from the University of Deusto, has spent years in quality control, sales, and security. In recent times he has held key roles at S21sec and Accenture, where he helped shape security strategies and implementations across Iberia.