Article from CISO SIG

Dennis Chan is currently the Chief Security & Privacy Officer (CSPO) of Huawei International Pte Ltd, where he oversees and manage the governance, risk and compliance of Huawei businesses in both Singapore and Brunei. He is also responsible for policy communication and strategic partnership on cyber security and data privacy with the government stakeholders and certification bodies.

Dennis had over 15 years of ICT sales experience covering both public and private sectors with proven track records and experience in leading team of sales and pre-sales in Huawei. Prior to his current role, he has served as the Vice President (Government Affairs). Dennis is certified with CCSKv4 and other industry certifications, also trained in cyber risk management, audit and compliance. Dennis is also a member of IT Standards Committee (IOT Security) Workgroup and volunteering in SGTech Digital Trust Chapter.

Introducing CISO with a deep interest in cybersecurity

As our organization and society are embracing digitization for business transformation, naturally will expand our exposure to risks. But we should not be shy away from digitization, but CISO to take up the responsibilities to understand these possible risks and introduce controls or measures over such risks so that the organization or society can continue to reap the benefits of digitization

What brought you to the Cybersecurity industry?

I have chanced upon cybersecurity while I was doing sales for public sector years back, where I need to bring my knowledge on cybersecurity governance and risk management up to speed and that was the time I found the importance of cybersecurity

What were your defining moments in this industry, and factors or guidance that helped you achieve them?

Not only i have helped my organization to build the trust and confidence of regulators and customers, but also to localise best practices for my internal organization

What is it that you love most about your role?

Driving cybersecurity awareness within my internal organisation, as knowledge and awareness is one of the best line of defence in cybersecurity. And as a member of AiSP I can also extend my knowledge and engage with local communities thru grassroot programs like Digital For Life

What are some of the trends you have seen in the market lately, and what do you think will emerge in the future?

1. Ransomware and Phishing will continue to be top threats, hence internal training for management and staff is important
2. Vulnerability and Human Factor will be crucial as more organization or companies are operating more complex IT environment
3. While AI may introduce new risks or threats, but AI can also be a good assistant for cybersecurity, eg. threat hunting or analysis
4. Foreseeing future threats may be of situational-aware and/or behavioural which make detection and analysis more challenging

What do you think is the role of CISO?

Main part of the role is risk and compliance management including audit, establish policies and protocols on incident response and recovery, budget planning for cybersecurity and data protection, upkeeping security awareness and knowledge within the organization (including board and management)

What can we do to encourage more people to join the cybersecurity sector?

Getting CISOs or cybersecurity professionals to share on career success stories and accomplishments at campus talk, identify potentials via challenges or competitions (eg CTF, hackathon ) . In fact mid-career conversion is a good opportunity to capture talents too.

What do you want to achieve or contribute to the Cybersecurity Ecosystem?

Cybersecurity is about ecosystem and collaborative effort, hence doing my part in making Singapore a cyber-safe nation in any way that I may contribute, eg. lead an interest group in association and as simple as sharing cybersecurity tips at community roadshows

Any advice for the Cybersecurity Professionals?

Advanced technologies evolve much faster than the way we learn about the technology, hence lifelong learning will allow us to remain relevant in the market and also to track closely on trends

Author Bio

Dennis Chan

Committee Member

AiSP

Dennis Chan is currently the Chief Security & Privacy Officer (CSPO) of Huawei International Pte Ltd, where he oversees and manage the governance, risk and compliance of Huawei businesses in both Singapore and Brunei. He is also responsible for policy communication and strategic partnership on cyber security and data privacy with the government stakeholders and certification bodies.

Dennis had over 15 years of ICT sales experience covering both public and private sectors with proven track records and experience in leading team of sales and pre-sales in Huawei. Prior to his current role, he has served as the Vice President (Government Affairs). Dennis is certified with CCSKv4 and other industry certifications, also trained in cyber risk management, audit and compliance. Dennis is also a member of IT Standards Committee (IOT Security) Workgroup and volunteering in SGTech Digital Trust Chapter.