Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Comments
Thursday, October 1, 2026
On the occasion of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, several industry leaders have given their comments.
Following are the thoughts they have expressed -
“This year's Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme, Stay Safe Online, is often read as a consumer message, but enterprises can't afford to treat it that way. As AI agents take on more of the day-to-day work inside organisations, from processing documents to executing transactions, every one of those agents needs the same basic hygiene we ask of employees: strong identity controls, least-privilege access and continuous monitoring of what they're allowed to do. Attackers rarely need to break through a firewall if they can walk in through an unmonitored agent or a reused credential. The organisations that stay resilient won't necessarily be the ones with the newest security tools, they'll be the ones that got the fundamentals right for both their people and their AI systems. At Fulcrum Digital, we build that discipline into how we design AI systems from day one, because prevention is still far cheaper than recovery." Contd
--Vaibhav Tare, Chief Information Security Officer, Fulcrum Digital
“India’s digital transformation is creating unprecedented opportunities for businesses of all sizes. From digital payments and AI-driven innovation to cloud adoption and connected ecosystems, organisations today are embracing technology to drive growth, improve customer experiences and stay competitive. As this journey accelerates, cybersecurity is no longer just an IT consideration. It has become a critical business priority that underpins trust, resilience and long-term success. The conversation around cybersecurity is also evolving at the leadership level. Regulatory developments such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act have reinforced the importance of responsible data stewardship, while growing digital dependencies have made cyber resilience an essential component of business strategy.
This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, companies should view cybersecurity as a shared responsibility that extends across the organization. Building a culture of awareness, accountability, and preparedness is just as important as investing in technology. The organizations that embed security into their growth agenda today will be best positioned to earn stakeholder trust, adapt to change, and thrive in an increasingly digital economy."
--Sunil Sharma, MD & VP, Sales, India & SAARC, Sophos
"Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good reminder for leadership teams to look at how security is built and maintained inside their organizations. AI-enabled threats and regulations such as NIS2 and DORA are raising the standard for how consistently security teams must operate, and reactive models built around alert queues struggle to meet it. Hybrid security teams offer a practical answer. Strategic leadership stays in-house, where context and accountability sit, while specialized external pods handle complex, tactical execution. Enterprises gain access to the right expertise at the point of need, without waiting months to fill a vacancy.
The same thinking applies to choosing a security partner. The right partner works towards business outcomes iz., fewer bottlenecks, no unnecessary tool sprawl; and a foundation that lets teams innovate and scale with confidence. Good security should feel invisible to the people relying on it every day.
Enterprises also have a role in building the talent pipeline. Working with employers to create structured routes into cybersecurity produces specialists who can implement what boards have already prioritized. We encourage organisations to review their security model, their partners and their talent strategy together, because resilience depends on all three working as one."
--Milind Shah, MD, Randstad Digital, India
The above comments show that industry leaders are aware of the changing security landscape, its associated challenges and are willing to go along with the changes to meet the challenges.
