Benoit Suire, cyber threat intelligence senior advisor at Hitachi Security Systems, recounts that his passion for technology began during his formative years as he realised it was a phenomenon that made people’s lives easier.

As Suire’s career evolved, he noticed technology becoming an increasingly prevalent tool that “could help to identify the right signals and detect or even anticipate certain crises”. As he recalls, “My life has always been about threat detection and monitoring, from an international perspective.”

Years in the media monitoring news and current affairs threats worldwide increased his interest and expertise in dealing with cyber threats. He pointed to threats to media outfits using such tools as Pegasus, a software tool used to spy on countries. His work gave him an insight into “media intelligence in specific areas such as propaganda and disinformation”, citing the conflict in Ukraine as an example of a situation that requires deep media intelligence.

During his time at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), in preparation for the last Winter Olympics in China, he created a multidisciplinary group with different expertise to assess threats and risks at different levels.

Suire is thrilled that his role at Hitachi offers the opportunity to learn and stay abreast of cyber threat news and trends, areas that require constant alertness and curiosity about what will happen next.

“Companies often wait until the last moment for a threat to occur to enquire about cybersecurity.

“Today’s threats arise too quickly for companies to be reactive,” Suire said. From his experience, Suire advises companies to take proactive steps to assess threats and make well-informed predictions regardless of size and scale.

Suire stressed that a sure way to save the company from severe damage is to review the organisation’s activities and address any weaknesses thoroughly. Identifying and anticipating potential threats will allow organisations to be more proactive. Suire also recommends sharing critical information with cybersecurity partners to provide company-wide protection.

Ultimately, Suire is thrilled to be making an impact by helping people through his work and advice.