Earned Trust: Reimagining Data Security in the Zero Trust Era with JR Williamson

Have you heard? Data is the new oil. JR Williamson, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Leidos, is here to explain where data’s value comes from, the data lifecycle and why it is essential for organizations to understand both of those things in order to protect this valuable resource. Join us as JR breaks it all down and also explores the concept he dubbed “risktasity,” which he uses to describe the elasticity of rigor based on risk. As he says, “when risk is high, rigor should be high, but when risk is low, rigor should be low.”

Key Topics

• 00:00 Migration to the cloud has increased vulnerability.
• 04:50 People want decentralized work, including mobile access.
• 08:14 Shift from application to democratizing access to data.
• 10:53 Identify, protect, and manage sensitive corporate information.
• 13:49 Data life cycle: creation, management, access, evolution.
• 20:10 Computers augmenting humans, making good decisions, insights.
• 23:19 The importance of data in gaining advantage.
• 27:04 Adapting to AI to anticipate and prevent breaches.
• 28:51 Adoption of large language models in technology.
• 33:03 Identity and access management extends beyond authentication.
• 36:33 Leveraging strengths, improving weaknesses in tennis strategy.

Tracing the Cybersecurity Evolution and Data's Ascendancy

Evolution of Cybersecurity

JR provided a snapshot into the past, comparing cybersecurity practices from the 1990s to what we see today. With 37 years of experience, he recalled a time when IT systems were centralized and the attack surfaces were significantly smaller. Contrasting this with the present scenario, he spoke about the current state where the migration to cloud services has expanded the attack surface. JR noted an increase in the complexity of cyber threats due to the widespread distribution of networks. Plus, the need for anytime-anywhere access to data. He stressed the transition from a focus on network security to a data-centric approach, where protecting data wherever it resides has become a paramount concern.

Data Life Cycle: "So part of understanding, the data itself is the data's life cycle. How does it get created? And how does it get managed? How does it evolve? What is its life cycle cradle to grave? Who needs access to it? And when they need access to it, where do they need access to it? It's part of its evolution. Does it get transformed? And sometimes back to the risktasity model, the data may enter the content life cycle here at some level. But then over its evolution may raise, up higher." — JR Williamson

The New Oil: Data

In the world JR navigates, data is akin to oil. A resource that when refined, can power decisions and create strategic advantages. He passionately elucidated on the essence of data, not just as standalone bits and bytes, but as a precursor to insights that drive informed decisions. Addressing the comparison between data and oil, JR stressed that the real value emerges from what the data is transformed into; actionable insights for decision-making. Whether it's about responding with agility in competitive marketplaces or in the context of national defense, delivering insights at an unmatched speed is where significant triumphs are secured.

Importance of Data Security

JR Williamson on Data and "Risktasity"

JR Williamson stresses the heightened necessity of enforcing security measures that accompany data wherever it resides. As the IT landscape has evolved, the focus has broadened from a traditional, perimeter-based security approach towards more data-centric strategies. He articulates the complexity that comes with managing and safeguarding data in a dispersed environment. Where data no longer resides within the confines of a controlled network but spans across a myriad of location