In the latest instalment of our IT security industry executive interview series we spoke to Chris Gilkes (pictured), Director EMEA at Veriato, about the company and its solutions, key challenges posed by a remote workforce, the importance of innovation and why you should never stop listening to customers…

Tell us about your company, products and services.

Veriato was founded as a software company in Florida in 1998. We have roughly 40,000 customers in over 100 countries worldwide. Our primary focus is Insider Threat Detection, Employee Monitoring and compliance solutions.

What have been the biggest challenges the IT security industry has faced over the past 12 months?

The new remote world has ushered in new security problems, with teams across the globe scrambling to find solutions that extend the corporate security framework beyond just the office. A key success factor in going remote is maintaining visibility into your workforce. 

Often, visibility is achieved by extracting information from disparate data sources like network and log data in the hopes of compiling a digital landscape of your remote workforce. The problem with many of these solutions is that they don’t offer granular visibility into the endpoint and Network analysis is not enough. This is where our flagship product, Cerebral can help.

How does Veriato help companies adapt to the new challenges inherent with a remote workforce? 

From a security perspective, Veriato utilizes AI-driven micro-agents that sit on the endpoint, monitoring, and recording all user activity. Veriato proactively watches for signs of insider threat. The platform will send immediate alerts as well as provide risk scoring for the entire workforce. Because Veriato I son the endpoint and is not network-dependent it maintains visibility, and records all actions, to maintain compliance standards. Additionally, it can provide productivity reporting critical for managing remote employees.

What is the biggest priority for the IT security industry in 2021?

Maintaining corporate security, productivity and compliance while workers are remote.

What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2021?

Companies will continue a hybrid work model and continue to scale down their physical operations leading to a higher reliance on monitoring and analytics technology like Veriato.

What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market this coming year?

Any type of technology that improves how employees work remotely.

Which person in, or associated with, the IT security industry would you most like to meet?

Brian Krebs, I’ve heard him speak at multiple events and he’s an interesting person with a great perspective on IT security.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about the IT security sector?

That the average number of tools an IT Security teams uses is 75, that’s absurd.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never stop innovating and listen to your customers.