As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Americana Fast Food, one of the region’s
largest quick-service restaurant operators, Vishal Vaghela is focused on more than just
defending infrastructure—he is safeguarding uptime, trust, and brand loyalty in a sector
where seconds matter.
“In quick service retail, downtime means lost revenue and lost customers. If a user can’t
place an order at lunchtime, they move on, often for good. That’s why our cybersecurity
strategy prioritizes detection and recovery above all else.”
Resilience Built for Retail
Vishal doesn’t believe cyber resilience varies significantly by region—but by industry.
“The fundamental building blocks are universal—identify, protect, detect, respond,
recover—but each industry prioritizes differently. In our case, the ability to restore services
quickly is paramount.”
Americana follows global best practices, including NIST and ISO 27001, but adapts them to
the speed and scale of food service. Their strategy is designed to minimize service
disruption and secure thousands of endpoints across 12 countries and 2,500+ stores.
People First: The Real Security Perimeter
Despite advanced tools, Vishal maintains that the biggest risk is still human and the best
defense is awareness.
“You can’t secure what you don’t know. And most breaches come down to internal
errors—misconfigurations, mishandled data, or phishing. That’s why our internal employees
awareness is non-negotiable.”
Americana invests heavily in cybersecurity awareness at every level of the organization.
From mandatory training on phishing and data handling to ethics and insider threat
awareness, Vishal sees employees as a frontline defense.
“Anyone with a keyboard and screen needs to understand basic hygiene. That’s where
resilience starts.”
Scaling Intelligence with Technology
With massive data volumes and attack surfaces, automation and AI-driven tools play a
critical role.
“Wherever large volumes need to be processed or threats need pattern recognition, we use
AI—especially for phishing, anomaly detection, and response.”
This proactive use of automation enables his team to focus on strategic risks while the tools
handle noise.
Cybersecurity as an Enabler
Americana’s transformation into a digital-first brand means security is a strategic enabler,
not a blocker.
Classification:
Public
“Our approach is to design security around the business—not the other way around. We
don’t slow innovation; we make it safer.”
Security is tracked at the enterprise risk level, reviewed by leadership, and built into every
technology rollout.
Despite evolving threats, Vishal emphasizes one timeless truth:
“Getting the basics right—knowing your assets, training your people, patching
vulnerabilities—is still the most powerful cybersecurity strategy.”
As the region accelerates digital transformation, Americana is proof that strong
fundamentals, smart frameworks, and empowered people are the keys to long-term
resilience.
