Holistic security has been the big push for Elena Kvochko, Chief Information Officer for the Group Security Function at Barclays Bank. Most large enterprises grow organically or through M&A, creating silos across institutions, but silos are simply unacceptable when you're building out next-generation defence technologies. Kvochko's main technology and digital initiative in 2017 was implementing and developing an innovative security and technology approach. The real value came from her bringing together cyber and physical security, intelligence, investigations and resilience under a joint operation. The value was enhanced by building out an underlying data platform to achieve cross-channel, cross-product visibility. The result has been a better, more precise and faster cyber defence. Her tech introductions to achieve holistic security included support for intelligence-driven defence. Kvochko's aim was to see what will hit the bank in the future rather than what has hit it previously. She made improvements across the security stack, innovating and experimenting with technologies such as blockchain for the cybersecurity use case. Kvochko also launched a Women in Security initiative focused on increasing the diversity of the security function at Barclays, and led a project to provide additional career opportunities for people with autism and establish whether there is a connection between autism and cyber crime and what can be done to prevent autistic individuals from being recruited by cyber crime networks. Finally, in the last 12 months Kvochko climbed the highest peaks in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, raising money for Refugees International by going to Everest base camp and Aconcagua – where she broke her leg on the way down and was forced to slide down the South American giant for two days to achieve her mission, but inspire her colleagues to step up for the causes they care about. [Read next: Barclays Security CIO Elena Kvochko writes exclusively for CIO UK about embedding security by design]