Companies need to get back to basics and stop being reactive when it comes to risk and security management. Risk and security issues today, although more sophisticated in name, are essentially the same as they’ve always been and require holistic solutions that also address increasingly burdensome legislative requirements.
This is the view of the newly appointed head of PwC South Africa’s Information Security practice, Kris Budnik.
“Ensuring corporate systems stay secure, without over-burdening stretched budgets, is about readiness and taking the noise out of the system,” said Budnik.
“Risks are intensified when the language and jargon used by boards and IT managers differ, as is often the case. Audit, risk and compliance issues get lost in translation and the security budget is often not allocated to critical areas.”
Budnik officially joined PwC South Africa on 1 August 2011.
“We are excited to have Kris on board as a strategic appointment to our technology service offering. Our clients can look forward to his holistic approach to IT security backed by his valuable expertise,” said Mark O’Flaherty, Partner at PwC South Africa.
“Kris has years of information security experience and the industry views his ideas as cutting-edge,” said O’Flaherty.
Budnik studied epidemiology, which is the study of disease patterns in populations in order to identify effective prevention strategies. He explains his studies, although not technology-related, helped him embrace his Information Security work.
“It is critical to consider multiple influencing factors when trying to address challenges of epidemic proportions. The response too, has to be multilayered. Having spent the better part of my academic life getting to grips with these principles in the real world has placed me well to deal with them in the virtual space,” said Budnik.
Part-time work managing technology to pay for his education fuelled Budnik’s technology interest. He studied systems and network engineering and begun his career in Enterprise System Management, where he focused on event and asset management, software distribution and finally security management.
Budnik has over 15 years experience in security management.
“I empathise with our clients – their security risks are only noticed when things go wrong. It is my mission to identify solutions to make life easier for clients,” said Budnik.
Staff Writer
