ChannelVision Magazine July-August 2016

INTERNATIONAL AGENTS

SECTION

“Our R&D department in Shoreditch,

London, comprises of developers from

several different EU nations – includ-

ing Italy, Finland and Germany,” Jamie

Moles, security consultant for Lastline,

American cybersecurity firm, told the

International Business Times

. “These

guys live and work in London and travel

around Europe for research purposes –

as well as to return home to visit family.

There is an obvious concern post-Brexit

that the rules might change regarding

their ability to stay in the U.K. and/

or travel freely around Europe. We will

have to wait and see if these concerns

are founded or not and will of course

support our team to remain employed

and productive.”

There may also be a dampening

impact on the country with regards to

the U.K. workforce skills pool. Brian

Spector, CEO of Miracl, a cybersecurity

firm based and operating in U.K., told

the

International Business Times

, “The

U.K. has a well-documented shortage

of tech talent that means it simply

cannot compete globally without tap-

ping into highly skilled overseas work-

ers. Splitting away from Europe would

make it even more difficult for U.K.

tech firms to compete with the U.S.

tech giants, because their talent pool

would be so much larger than ours. To

cut ourselves off from the rest of Eu-

rope therefore does nothing to protect

the U.K.’s reputation as being open for

business.”

From a data privacy and protection

perspective, there’s also the question

of whether the U.K. will align with the

upcoming GDPR and NIS

Directive. Further, accord-

ing to Michela Menting,

research director for ABI

Research, the U.K. faces a

decision whether to retro-

actively repeal or keep all

past EU legislation adopted

to date for data protection

and privacy. This will have

far-reaching ramifications

for any tech company pro-

viding cloud services to

Europeans.

“Currently, all EU laws

still apply in the U.K.; at

least over the course of

the next two years as the

U.K. untangles itself from

the Union,” she said. “How-

ever, the U.K. will need to determine not

only whether they will (unilaterally) imple-

ment similar legislation in the future.”

For some technology companies,

the U.K. might be inclined to ease rules

on privacy policies, since the European

Union has some of the strictest in the

world, said Todd Thibodeaux, president

and CEO of CompTIA, a global technol-

ogy trade association.

“Over time, we may see oppor-

tunities open up and the U.K. go

after some sectors like Ireland has,”

Thibodeaux said.

Even if Britain ultimately adopts regu-

lations identical to Europe’s, it will take

a couple of years. And in the meantime,

there will be a new “regulatory is-

land,” with its own rules for tariffs,

duties and material standards –

causing complications for any U.S.

business looking to establish a pan-

European presence.

There are directives on e-

commerce and data protection that

date back to the early 2000s, the

EU Directive on Data Retention from

2006, and the Directive on Attacks

against Information Systems, ad-

opted in August 2013. The U.K. has

adapted all of these in some shape

or form into national legislation.

“The U.K. will have to rule on

the continued applicability of these

instruments, as well as how they will

address the incoming GDPR and NIS

Directive,” Menting said.

Many U.S. companies find the EU

regulations onerous and an impediment

to trans-Atlantic commerce; which on

the one hand would point to Brexit be-

ing helpful from a U.S. trade perspec-

tive. However, both the GDPR and the

NIS Directive state that operators and

data controllers will be covered by the

legislative requirements if they operate

within EU markets and involve EU citi-

zens – which leaves Britain in a position

of little power to forge its own path.

“Seeing the high level of trade that

the open market has brought in the

U.K. in the past four decades, many

U.K. organizations will need to comply if

they want to continue trading and oper-

ating in EU markets,” she said.

Despite the uncertainty around

these issues, it’s important to keep a

level head, according to An Ananth, CEO

of EventTracker.

“Brexit is affecting everything,” he

said. “What’s happened is unprecedent-

ed, and there is a lot of confusion as to

the next steps. This is the kind of chaotic

environment in which insecurity thrives.”

He added, “This is reminiscent of

2008 when the U.S. financial system

suffered. That type of environment

hurts security, which is already hard

enough to maintain. At times like this,

process and discipline can help. You

should train like you fight, because

you’ll fight like you train, as the saying

goes. I would recommend that everyone

keep calm and carry on.”

Source: CompTIA, among U.K. members

If Britain were to leave the EU, how do you think it

would affect your company’s profitability?

56%

22%

Very positively

Positively

Neutral

Negatively

Very negatively

15% NET Positively

28% NET Negatively

Source: CompTIA, among U.K. members

Do you think that government efforts to

cut EU red tape for businesses have

been successful?

25%

69%

Yes

Not sure

Top Security Projects - Next 12 Months

What are your organization’s top three information security project

the next 12 months

Endpoint Security

Security Information

and Event Management

Security Awareness Initiatives

Vulnerability Assessment

Data Leakage Prevention (DLP)

Identity Management

18%

16%

14%

Source; CompTIA

Would your employment strategy

change if Britain wer t leav

the EU?

Do you think US vendors will shift

thei focus away from the UK if it

were to leave the EU?

Y arly growth in newly discovered mal

Source: CompTIA, among U.K. members

If Britain were to leave the EU, how do you think it

would affect your comp ny’s profitability?

Cybersecurity Market Annual Forecast

13%

22%

28%

63%

66%

Yes

Not sure

Yes

Not sure

Yes

Not sure

Yes

Not sure

56%

22%

Very positively

Positively

Neutral

Negatively

Very negatively

15% NET Positively

28% NET Negatively

Source: CompTIA, among U.K. members

Do you think that government efforts to

cut EU red tape for businesses have

been successful?

25%

69%

Yes

Not sure

Top Security Projects - Next 12 Months

What are your organization’s top three information security projects over

the next 12 months

Source: 451 Research

Source: BIA Kelsey, U.S. market

Source: Business Insider Intelligence

Estimated Global Cybersecurity Market

loT focus areas

(i.e. Smart Cities)

2015E

2016E

2017E

USD (Billions)

Global

$160

$80

Connected Car

Connected TV

Mobile/Network

PCs

loT Devices

Wearables

$160

$140

$120

$100

$80

$60

$40

$20

2015E 2015E 2015E 2015E 2015E 201

Android

Document

FreeBSD

iOS

Linux

MSIL

Other

Perl

153%

35%

212%

33%

-67%

-33%

-100% 0%

100% 200%

CHANNEL

VISION

July - August 2016