GET TO KNOW
The Auth0 team has already nicknamed me the ‘ Where ’ s Waldo ’ of the group . I have wanderlust and I travel often . When I ’ m not in the office , I ’ m at the airport heading to my next adventure .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
If you ’ d asked me before I turned 40 , I would have had a long list of things I would have done differently . Now , I wouldn ’ t change a thing . Every decision , both good and challenging , led me to this moment . I recognise the value of each of my career decisions and understand that the role I have today as CISO is the culmination of all those decisions .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in the cybersecurity industry ?
Security is still too often seen as an afterthought by businesses . This leads to all sorts of challenges ; companies are not implementing the right technologies in a secure manner to successfully fend against attacks . We should be investing in ‘ as-a-Service .’ Understanding what your team does well and leveraging software , infrastructure , or identity as-a-Service is not only a good investment , it is a decision that will move business forward at the speed of innovation . We should look at the gaps in our organisations and find collaborative solutions and partnerships that allow our teams to get laser-focused on what we actually do well .
Are there any differences in the way cybersecurity challenges need to be tackled in the different regions ?
Organisations should be taking a global approach to cybersecurity . We are all facing the same threats . They should remember to consider the little things when it comes to cybersecurity as they have a habit of adding up and leading to big costs .
Most attackers will usually start with trying to exploit the most common and easiest point of entry , so businesses must ensure they have an Identity and Access Management ( IAM ) system in place that leverages best practices ( captcha , MFA , adaptive
Security is still too often seen as an afterthought by businesses . authentication ) as this is a great first step in drastically minimising the more sophisticated compromises and data breaches .
Change management is as important as hardening and patching systems . System updates and configuration changes often require administrators to reset various configurations upon completion . Forgetting to do this can leave the doors open for attacks .
Permissions and access management are also important . Preventing lateral movement inside your organisational network can be critical in minimising damage . Ensuring that only authorised users have access is critical , which includes managing credentials of termed employees , using privileged accounts and leveraging technology to manage user access .
Lastly , you really need to have a Business Continuity plan in place . This needs to be a realistic and actionable plan – and must be tested . When doing so , it ’ s important to create a plan that makes sense for the industry that you ’ re in and understand exactly what your tolerance is for outages and downtime .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
Two months into my role as CISO , Auth0 was acquired by Okta and together we are creating the future of digital identity . This is one of the most exciting times in my career and moving at the speed of innovation will be pivotal to that future .
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in the security industry ?
One of my passions for the security industry is to see more women around the boardroom table and at an executive level . Our industry is still largely dominated by men , but one of the factors that really helped me get to where I am today was having a strong group of mentors and champions that I could turn to throughout critical points in my career . I would advise any female looking to obtain a C-level position to surround herself with a similar group of mentors and champions that they can lean on , and who will provide opportunities to grow and succeed .
Another one of my top tips is for people to really seize every opportunity possible to grow and learn . Your career journey is whatever you make it and progress can be achieved in many ways other than receiving a promotion . p
80 INTELLIGENTCIO MIDDLE EAST www . intelligentcio . com