Min Kyriannis, CEO and co-founder of Amyna Systems and managing director of EMD|JMK, is a wearer of many hats. On this episode of Cyber Security Inside, we get into all the details - we talk entrepreneurship, how cybersecurity relates to manufacturing facilities, the importance of giving back, and lots of other interesting tidbits, such as how Min grows her own Carolina Reapers in the backyard!
We cover:
How she got from Point A to Point B in her career despite a tough childhood
What to look for when selecting a trustworthy team for security and risk management
How COVID accelerated the need for better-protected infrastructure
The focus on giving back, especially regarding building a better future for #WomenInTech
...and more. Don’t miss it!
The views and opinions expressed are those of the guests and author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Intel Corporation.
Here are some key take-aways:
There’s a collaborative effort that needs to happen between manufacturers, distributors, and owners regarding device security.
Selecting a trustworthy team is reliant on lots of gut checks and long-standing human relationships.
You should also ask the right questions of your team to ensure you’re working with quality people.
You can succeed regardless of your background, as long as you’re willing to put your mind and energy into it.
Despite how busy you may be, giving back to your community is crucial to shaping a better future.
Some interesting quotes from today’s episode:
“I actually broke three computers [while] programming because I couldn’t yell at it, and it didn't respond to me. So I smacked it and I think I broke the motherboard!”
“We’re creating a bunch of foundations, one specifically dedicated to underprivileged youths and gives them opportunities which they otherwise wouldn’t have. And also looking at veterans, seeing if there’s a way to help veterans who are just recently discharged from the military.”
“We raise funds to actually have organizations who are boots on the ground to help save children and women who are in forced labor.”
“With COVID, everything has been blurred. I mean, we’re all working from home. So the expectation is when you go home, you should be able to connect to your workplace and also work and perform your functions at the same time. So for us, we kind of view it more as an entire ecosystem. It’s not whether it’s commercial, residential, private, or public, it’s basically everything, all the devices.”
“One of the things that we’re doing is also quality control. We’re actually making sure that these devices are tested properly before they get shipped out, but we’re at the proof of concept stage.”
“The team is critical, and I think it’s not just a supply chain, but also the team of people that you’re working with needs to be also vetted and looked at properly. And that’s what we’re doing right now as we’re developing these components, the software, the box itself; we’re working with the right people and also the right companies.”
“The expectation is you’re going to have to put this somewhere secure where people can’t break in and tamper with the device.“
“Unfortunately people can lie, but with people that you work with for a long time, it’s harder for them because there’s a reputation there also.”
“You’re going to know if there’s something wrong; you can understand body language, you can understand how they work due to business dealings.”
“It’s a very male-dominated industry, even in security, physical security; IT has been very male-dominated. That being said, mentorship has been extremely difficult. So there wasn’t mentorship. You had to learn things on your own or really kind of claw some ways and read a lot to get to an executive level.”