**In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Mike Privette, CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of mobility management platform Passport.

Conversation Highlights:**

  • How Mike got into security on accident (4:25)
  • What Mike recommends to people wanting to shift their career into security, and why thoughts on degrees are changing (7:57)
  • Mike's thoughts on going deep vs. broad on a topic (10:38)
  • Mike's thoughts on the responsibility an organization holds in training their workforce (11:05)
  • What it really means to be a CISO, and how Mike's experiences have differed across being in security at tech firm and in the financial sector (12:41)
  • Challenges with security being a necessary business component but not having an ROI (17:06)
  • Misconceptions people have related to IT and security, and why open communication across business departments is so important (21:13)
  • What security basics need to be covered to make sure majority of risks are mitigated (24:47)
  • What to do first in instances where you walk into an organization as CISO and everything is a vulnerable mess (hint: it begins with a general maturity assessment and incident response plan) (27:27)
  • The value in iterating and assessing an organization's security posture to understand capabilities and gaps (31:05)
  • The security mantra you should always say in a job interview (35:31)
  • Upcoming IoT technology trends and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and public works that inspire them (35:49)
  • Supply chain security as another big trend (39:18)
  • Urging companies to use SaaS instead of running software themselves (41:35)
  • How impending recession/depression influences cyber attacks (44:44)
  • How impending recession/depression influences funding and investor decisions (45:21)
  • The #1 piece of advice Mike would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (47:02)

Publications and Technologies Mentioned:

  • Security, Funded Newsletter of Return on Security, written by Mike himself