For someone who thought they had seen everything InfoSec had to throw at its people, the past 12 months have been the most challenging in memory. Ripped from their offices, with support networks and comfortable processes removed, the people of InfoSec were forced to adapt overnight, heralding a flood of technical as well as personal challenges.
At the same time, cybersecurity has continued its march from being a separate function to being the cornerstone that enables the entire business. The teams responsible are now under intense pressure as boards lean heavier than before – and attackers continually seek to leverage every tiny advantage.
Throughout my time covering cybersecurity for a number of industry publications, I’ve been able to catalogue many of the challenges of the past decade. The one thing that has always stood out for me has been the people who do the job. Against the current backdrop, these unique humans have become even more of an essential part of cybersecurity, despite often being called the weakest link.
For this reason, we wanted to create a piece of work that sought to understand the people of InfoSec. What better way to do this than from their own mouths? Far from the data-driven crush of the SOC or endless reporting spreadsheets, we wanted to ask people about people. We cast our net wide and asked everyone from front-line teams to those who run industry bodies for their opinions on the human element of cybersecurity.
Meet the people behind the screens in our latest eBook.
Tracy Z. Maleeff
Information security analyst at The New York Times Company
@infosecsherpa
Taharka Beamon
SOC manager at Reed Exhibitions
Quentyn Taylor
Director of information security, Canon EMEA
@quentynblog
Joe Hancock
Partner and Head of Cyber at Mishcon de Reya
@joehancock
Jen Ellis
VP Public Affairs, Rapid7 / Atlantic Council Fellow / Board various nonprofits
@Infosecjen
Wolfgang Goerlich
Advisory CISO at Cisco Duo
@jwgoerlich
Heath Renfrow
CISO of the Conversant Group
Daniel Cuthbert
Member of Black Hat / Brucon Review Board, Co-author of OWASP ASVS Standard
@dcuthbert
Lisa Ventura
CEO of the UK Cyber Security Association
@cybergeekgirl
Kevin Breen
Director of Cyber Threat Research, Immersive Labs
@kevthehermit