Why Human-centric Approach to Cyber Solutions is the Way Forward for Businesses
Sumit Dhawan, CEO of Proofpoint, says that demand for cybersecurity is increasing in the rapidly digitizing Middle East.
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In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity has shifted from being a technological concern to a deeply human issue. As businesses increasingly embrace digital transformation, the role of human behavior in shaping organizations’ security posture has never been more critical.
Sumit Dhawan, CEO of Proofpoint, says cybersecurity is no longer just a governance or audit committee concern. “It’s a resilience issue. As businesses digitize, resilience extends beyond infrastructure to include the human element.”
As cyber-attacks multiply and evolve rapidly worldwide, security postures are becoming more human-centric, recognizing people as the weakest link and the strongest defense against cyber threats.
In this exclusive interview, Dhawan discusses cybersecurity’s holistic approach, regional strategies, the integration of emerging technologies in a world increasingly reliant on smart systems, and how cybersecurity has become a topic within leadership circles.
A Shift in Cybersecurity Strategy
Traditional cybersecurity measures focused heavily on technology to prevent attacks from happening. However, Dhawan explains that as cyber threats have evolved, so must the strategies to combat them. “There is prevention, which is attacks never, ever taking place, and then there is detecting and responding,” Dhawan states. “Over time, the preventive problem has become a human problem. Threat actors are attacking people, and people are the ones that lose data.”
Proofpoint’s approach reflects this understanding, with an emphasis on enabling a human-centric security environment. Their platform integrates four key areas: preventing threats, changing human behavior, ensuring data security, and enhancing overall resilience. This holistic approach ensures that people, the most vulnerable link in the cybersecurity chain, are protected and educated to defend against evolving threats.
Human-Centric Security: Best in Class, Not Just Good Enough
Dhawan stresses that providing the best possible defense in each facet of cybersecurity is non-negotiable. “Whatever you do, you have to be the best at it,” he says. “Good enough is not good enough in the world of cyber.”
He continues, “We don’t detect and respond or do network security. We do human-centric security,” adding that each part of the Proofpoint platform is developed and rigorously tested to ensure solutions offer both efficacy and seamless integration.
Aligning Regional Strategies with Global Goals
As organizations in the Middle East and other regions undergo rapid digital transformation, Dhawan outlines the importance of aligning regional businesses with holistic cybersecurity strategies that ensure long-term growth objectives are met. The Middle East, particularly the UAE, stands out for its high degree of digitization. Dhawan points to the region’s political stability and significant technological investments as key drivers of this growth, simultaneously heightening the need for robust cybersecurity measures.
“Digitization and cyber go hand in hand,” Dhawan says, adding that as businesses digitize, they must simultaneously invest in cybersecurity or risk becoming vulnerable to attacks.
Leadership also plays a pivotal role in fostering a culture of cybersecurity, and Dhawan highlights the evolving nature of this responsibility. In the past, cybersecurity was often relegated to the realm of risk management and governance, with boardroom discussions revolving around risk mitigation. However, as digital transformation has progressed, cybersecurity has increasingly become a topic of resilience—a shift that has influenced leadership priorities.
Dhawan explains that leadership in cybersecurity is now about ensuring the organization’s resilience in the face of threats. “As you digitize your business, you’re looking at resilience holistically differently,” he says. This shift has led to a greater emphasis on proactive measures as CEOs and governments recognize the need to protect their workforce and the broader digital ecosystem.
When AI and Automation Meet Human Expertise
As AI and automation reshape cybersecurity, Dhawan underscores the importance of human expertise in security operations and decision-making. While AI and automation are invaluable for handling large volumes of threat data, they cannot replace human judgment.
“We make it as easy as possible for humans to triage and take automated actions,” he explains. Proofpoint’s systems synthesize vast amounts of threat data, which is then validated by humans before being acted upon by automated processes. This hybrid approach ensures that organizations benefit from both the speed of automation and the nuanced understanding of human analysts.
Securing Data in a Smart, Digitized World
As technologies such as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) proliferate, the security challenges posed by increasingly connected devices have become more complex. Dhawan reveals that while these devices expand the attack surface, the core threat remains the same: humans.
“The bigger the surface area through smart cities, the more types of attacks and vulnerabilities humans have,” he notes.
It is equally important to be vigilant to data security, focusing on data at rest and in motion. “We give our customers visibility into where their data is, how it is multiplying, and what type of data it is,” Dhawan explains. This level of monitoring, combined with policies that govern how data is shared, ensures that valuable data remains protected, even as it is used for strategic decision-making.
“When it comes to cybersecurity, you must be the best at what you do,” he adds.
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