Top 100 Interview: Ashwin Pal

Director of Cybersecurity, Unisys

Ashwin Pal has over 20 years of experience in information security and runs the APAC security business for American IT company Unisys. Before that he was the Managed Security Practice Manager for IT services firm Dimension Data where he was responsible for designing complex security architectures and consulting on information security.

How will you drive your organization’s cybersecurity strategy forward in 2021?

It is all about working with my CISO community and taking a more business-minded approach. I want to focus on really aligning cybersecurity with business goals. I often say that cybersecurity cannot, and should not, exist on its own. It needs to be part of the risk management function and should operate very similarly to other risk management processes like financial risk management, legal risk management, and sustainability. As the threat landscape gets worse, we need to enhance our ability to respond to this and mitigate the cyber risks facing us. I am on a mission to make sure that that is what we do in 2021 and beyond.

How has the pandemic affected the cybersecurity posture in your organization?

Well, it is quite interesting because everybody was affected by the pandemic. We all had to adapt to allow remote access, and this was forced on us in a very short period of time – this was a challenge on its own. The pandemic also really accelerated our digital transformation as well. Going forward, we will be on this fast-paced journey around security, moving in lockstep with the business to make sure that we are enhancing remote connectivity, digital transformation, and taking the business forward.

Ashwin Pal is featured in our Top 100 Global Leaders in Information Security Report. Click here to read the full list.