Today, Derek Harp is excited to have Graham Speake, the Director of Industrial Security at Waterfall Security Solutions, joining him on the show! Graham started very early on as an engineer in control systems. He is an interesting and well-rounded individual with a long history in engineering. 

Graham was born in Wales and moved to London when he started working. He has been living in America for the past twenty years. He is a senior Cyber Security professional with broad experience leading global Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) cybersecurity programs for protecting mission-critical systems and infrastructure. He is an expert in developing and delivering security training courses and security awareness. He has subject-matter expertise in Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA cybersecurity, particularly in oil and gas majors, and for risk managing large capital value projects and architecting global solutions for Oil and Gas and Industrial Automation customers. He is a music lover, photographer, and world traveler who has recently become an RV traveler. He is also a husband, father, grandfather, and raspberry pie enthusiast!

In this episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, Graham talks about his background and career journey and discusses what led him to where he is today. He also offers valuable nuggets of advice for listeners who would like to make a career in or transition into cyber security.

This is one episode you will not want to miss if you are looking to make a career in the cyber security space or are an engineer and would like to add cyber security to your career path. Stay tuned for more!

Show highlights:

• Graham's early experiences inspired him to do electrical/ electronic engineering at college and then move into working with electronics and electricity in an industrial setting. (3:13)
• The benefits of having an engineering background. (8:05)
• Graham shares his recommendations for engineers who would like to add cyber security to their professional path. (9:08)
• The US government offers free security training through the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). (10:22)
• Graham talks about the mentorship he received and offers advice for finding a mentor and doing a mentorship exchange. (12:07)
• Security only intersected with his journey much later in his career. (17:16)
• 9/11 was a pivot- point in his career. (20:08)
• Graham talks about various types of industrial proprietary communication protocols. (26:04)
• Graham talks about how he got into his interesting role at Yokogawa and how it differed from what he did at BP. (29:58)
• Graham discusses what happened in the security space after being invited to be part of a training course and certification program in 2011. (36:58)
• Learning the basic working vocabulary and terminology is a way to build bridges and get teams from different industries to work together. (42:22)
• Graham explains why he could not say no to working for Waterfall. (54:00)
• Relationships you form early in your career in the security space end up being very powerful later on. (57:40)

Links:

(CS)²AI

Waterfall Security Solutions

Graham Speake on LinkedIn

INL Critical Infrastructure Protection Training