The greatest achievement of the past three decades has been to create a cybersecurity industry, and keep “delivering the best security”, said Gil Shwed.

Shwed, who announced his intention to step down as CEO of Check Point 12 months ago, and who now serves as executive chairman of the company, said the company’s CPX conference in Vienna that “feels relaxed” following the appointment of Nadav Zafrir as new CEO.

Changes

Speaking with resident of EMEA sales  Sherif Seddik, Shwed said that a lot needs to be done in the next decade. “I think there are going to be many changes, but there are also going to be a few things that won't change,” he said. Citing ‘people who need more cybersecurity, people will need more network security, people will need more security for their data, for their cloud, for their email’ and for everything they use.

Shwed said: “So we need to make sure that we are at our best, and we need to do it with new methodologies, creative ways and definitely AI, as that is going to be an important part of that future.”

Speaking on moving from a day-to-day role at Check Point, Shwed likened it to being father who encourages his son to leave the house and achieve, and he said that under the leadership of Nadav Zafrir, “I’m going to be super proud.”

Critical Factors

In closing, asked what he thought was going to be the most critical factors that we need to think about in the next five years, Shwed said in cyber “there is no one priority” as you need to close all the gaps, because any cracks are where attackers will get in.

He said he believes the network remains the lifeline of the internet, but also there is the cloud, email, the mobile application, “and I think we need to invest in the future in each and every one of them.”

Shwed concluded by saying that just like when the internet revolution started, he was one of the last who said it could change the world, but “it is probably a thousand times deeper than what I anticipated.” He acknowledged how the internet is use for nefarious purposes, but said “I don't think we can imagine our life without it today, and I do think it is a better world today due to it.”

“The same is true for AI; it is going to touch every single part of our lives which will make things stronger, and will make us as human beings much better,” he said. “But we also need you to use it to provide better cybersecurity, and keep using it because the attackers will be using it.”

Dan Raywood Senior Editor SC Media UK

Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.

He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.

Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.