Rene Kolga

What does the CISO role look like today? Devo CISO Kayla Williams joined a panel of CISOs at #RSAC to share the most pressing issues for their role, including keeping up with modern rules & regulations, balancing the risks and benefits of AI, adapting to new threats, and more.  Check out the full panel below.

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A potential homebuyer would not buy a piece of land if the home builder did not show them how the fully constructed house would look. Similarly, investors (and design partners) are more likely to sign when they can *see* your product and not just imagine it. Founders: Give us a week of your time and we will build a design prototype for you just like we did for Amplifier Security.

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The acquisition may already have happened by the time this posts, but here's the "why" of the downfall for Lacework: good people left. "Six months after the monster Series D funding round, Lacework laid off 20% of its staff in a bid to strengthen the company's balance sheet. Then in summer 2022, President and Chief Revenue Officer Andy Byron - who spearheaded all of Lacework's go-to-market functions since 2019 - departed. Lacework's CRO responsibilities on an interim basis went to David Hatfield, who joined the company as CEO in February 2021 and became co-CEO in August 2021 after the addition of Facebook engineering head Jay Parikh. But in October 2022, Hatfield left the company, with Parikh telling staff, "Now is the time to unify the company under one leader." Parikh remains the sole CEO of Lacework (see: Lacework Co-CEO David Hatfield Out 4 Months After Layoffs). Parikh spoke with ISMG in February 2023 about Lacework's new attack path analysis tool, which helps organizations understand the havoc specific threats could wreak within their cloud infrastructure. "Our data-driven approach here really drives efficiency and effectiveness for these teams so they can prioritize what they should focus their time on to understand and remediate different areas of risk" (see: Lacework CEO on How to Prioritize Cloud Infrastructure Risks). But these investments failed to prevent continued brain drain at Lacework. After holding headcount steady between 975 and 1,025 employees between September 2022 to August 2023, the company's workforce has shrunk by nearly 24% over the past eight months despite never formally disclosing any layoffs." Finding and retaining good people needs to be job number 1. If it's not, buckle up.

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Rakesh Nair, Devo SVP of product and engineering, recently caught up with N2K | CyberWire to discuss our recent product news, including the launching of Devo Data Orchestration and ThreatLink™. He explains how the explosion of data has created new challenges for security teams and how Devo is working to solve them. Listen below. #SecOps #SecurityData #Cybersecurity

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Mid-Year Reflection: Insights from Edgio’s CEO The past six months have revealed a promising path forward for Edgio. We have untapped potential, motivated teams, and a renewed focus on profitability. Now, with strong product-market fit in our high-margin Apps/Security and Media sectors, and continuous optimization of our network, we're unlocking Edgio’s true potential. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQJYFbqK

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Cybercriminals are changing their offense strategy from attacking systems to attacking the people who operate them. In an interview with The Futurum Group’s Shira Rubinoff, Veritas expert Tim Burlowski discusses what organizations must do to adapt.

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Next #databreach #KaiserPermanente 13.4M patients #HIPAA #PHI #EPHI #Security #Privacy #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #CyberSec #Risk #Patientrisk #PatientData https://lnkd.in/gSJKmKci

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If you, like me, believe tech companies should have solid planet-saving goals, you’ll be interested in this one. Apple recently dropped its annual environmental report, and it's good. The mission is to go completely carbon neutral by 2030 - and there’s no messing around. Lisa Jackson, Apple's eco guru, said they're pulling out all the stops to hit that target. From increasing wind and solar power to revamping recycling tech, Apple's leaving no stone unturned. Even their product designs are getting a green makeover. And they're not going it alone. Apple's rallying the troops, working with more than 320 suppliers to cut emissions and go renewable. Plus, they're updating their products with recycled materials - like the new MacBook Air, made with over 50% recycled materials. And get this… Apple's not just talking the talk on climate justice. They're aiming for 100% recycled rare earth materials and are even using recycled cobalt in iPhone batteries. It’s safe to say, they're pumping serious cash into carbon offset projects, aiming to make a real difference. And they're not afraid to admit when things need a tune-up, like calling out the shortcomings of carbon credits. Honesty is the best policy, right? Do you think more tech companies need to be open about their environmental goals… and shortcomings? #Apple #EnvironmentalGoals #CarbonNeutral

Security is at the core of what we do at Okta. We’re proud to be advancing and meeting Secure by Design standards that bring greater resilience to the enterprise ecosystem. Since joining CISA’s Secure by Design pledge in May, our team has been focused on meeting high benchmarks for security practices across our product suite. In this latest blog post, our Chief Security Officer, David Bradbury, shares Okta’s progress and the ongoing work ahead. Here’s an update on key initiatives: - Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adoption has surged, now at 91% for administrators and 66% for users, doubling since pre-pandemic times. Phishing-resistant methods like Okta FastPass and FIDO2 WebAuthn continue to accelerate, pushing us closer to a passwordless future. - Reducing vulnerabilities: Through continuous vulnerability testing and targeted reviews, we’ve achieved a 47% annual reduction in Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerabilities. This proactive approach keeps Okta resilient against emerging threats. - Enhanced transparency and support: Our vulnerability disclosures, automatic update options, and open bug bounty program ensure customers are empowered with the tools and insights to stay secure. Looking ahead, Okta’s commitment to security isn’t just for today. The Okta Secure Identity Commitment will continue to drive new standards and innovations to defend against identity-based threats, including our recent IPSIE open standard to set fresh security benchmarks for enterprise identity. #Okta #Security #IdentityManagement #ZeroTrust

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Embark on your modern SecOps journey at your local Google office In this series of half-day workshops, our security experts will share the latest on the threat landscape, next-gen security practices, and how to gain visibility into Google Cloud assets to spot vulnerabilities and threats.

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Learn how the San Francisco Department of Public Health strengthens their security posture with Check Point Software Harmony Email & Collaboration. Join our webinar on May 15 to hear Lawrence Wolff and Don Byrne discuss the healthcare cyber crisis, the importance of #AI in #cybersecurity, and how to use AI to prevent phishing and ransomware attacks. What you'll learn: ✅ Strategies to defend against advanced Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks ✅ How to implement a robust, #AI-powered defense-in-depth strategy ✅ Best practices for protecting sensitive data across a complex health ecosystem Save your spot ➡️

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As CISOs look to build their array of leadership skills, effective talent and team career development cannot be overlooked. This critical skill has evolved from "nice to have" to instrumental in building a resilient cybersecurity team and pushing the business forward. Join this session at the December 3rd CISO Summit to discuss: -Fostering an environment of continuous learning and skill development -Leveraging talent development within the security function as a business enabler -Promoting and enabling a team to take ownership of their career paths Discussion Leaders: Nemi George, Vice President, Information Security Officer, Pacific Dental Services Shoaib Qazi, CISO and Technology Officer, RXO Trina Ford, SVP, CISO, iHeartMedia #evantaciso #socalciso

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SecTemplates.com - Release #1 Security incident response program pack 1.0   Introduction I've worked in the security industry for over 20 years and, during this time, have built and shaped many security programs. At every company I join, I find myself recreating or developing security programs from scratch. My peers have been in a similar position, and the more people I speak with at smaller companies, the more obvious it becomes that there isn't a single location where people can download ready-to-go security programs entirely for free. There's a lot of content online, but it can be difficult to find and challenging to know where to start. I created SecTemplates as a side project to provide baseline programs for smaller security teams without direct expertise in building such programs.   Security incident response release pack 1.0 I'm pleased to announce our first release, the Incident Response Program Pack. The goal of this release is to provide you with everything you need to establish a functioning security incident response program at your company. In this pack, we cover Definitions: This document introduces sample terminology and roles during an incident, the various stakeholders who may need to be involved in supporting an incident, and sample incident severity rankings. Preparation Checklist: This checklist provides every step required to research, pilot, test, and roll out a functioning incident response program. Runbook: This runbook outlines the process a security team can use to ensure the right steps are followed during an incident, in a consistent manner. Process workflow: We provide a diagram outlining the steps to follow during an incident. Document Templates: Usable templates for tracking an incident and performing postmortems after one has concluded. Metrics: Starting metrics to measure an incident response program.   Announcement: https://lnkd.in/gVxfe35c Download on GitHub: https://lnkd.in/ghAxE9nX   About SecTemplates To provide simplified, free, and usable open-source templates to enable engineering and smaller security teams to bootstrap security capabilities in their organizations.   Upcoming releases - Penetration testing release pack 1.0 Our penetration testing release pack will contain everything you need to scope your first pentest, work with a vendor, execute, and get the types of reports you need from an external tester.

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When missteps occcur, do you immediately go into damage control mode or do you look for the opportunity? In our study of how to increase the sense of true urgency in our change efforts, we are reminded to look for opportunities in crises. This is a great mindset to have when seeking to continuously improve your organization. This week, I included a brief case study as part of my blog. Check it out. #leadershipdevelopment https://lnkd.in/eP-hUHRV

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True humility thrives on undeniable self-confidence. People often misunderstand the concept of “being humble.” It’s too easy to think of humility as simply being quiet or reserved, as though keeping our heads down and our voices low somehow makes us humble. But humility is much more nuanced than that. As the saying goes, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” This means humility isn’t about shrinking your presence or downplaying your strengths. It’s about recognizing your worth without needing to constantly assert it. It’s about understanding that confidence and humility are not enemies—they’re allies. Take leadership, for example. A leader who practices humility isn’t the one who is silent in meetings or avoids the spotlight. Instead, they’re the one who confidently makes decisions while acknowledging and valuing the contributions of their team. They understand that their success is intertwined with others, and they lead with a sense of responsibility rather than ego. On a personal level, think about times when you’ve achieved something significant. True confidence is knowing you’ve done something great, but humility is recognizing that your journey isn’t just about you- It’s about the lessons learned, the people who helped along the way, and the bigger picture. Nelson Mandela is a powerful example. He was confident in his vision and his ability to lead a nation. Yet, he remained grounded, never placing himself above those he served. His humility didn’t stem from weakness; it was a clear sign of his strength. Here’s the reality: Humility and confidence aren’t opposites—they’re two sides of the same coin. You can embrace both. Be sure of your abilities, but let your actions speak for themselves. Know your worth, without constantly needing to prove it. That’s where real strength lies. “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”

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