Today, Derek Harp is excited to interview Eric J. Byres, the Founder of and Chief Technology Officer of aDolus Technology Inc., in another episode of the Security Leaders series. Eric is a pioneer in industrial cyber security. He is a technologist, entrepreneur, author, inventor, outdoor enthusiast, and sailor. 

Eric grew up in North Vancouver and later graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree from The University of British Columbia, focusing on geological engineering and mining operations. He is widely recognized as one of the world’s top experts in the SCADA security field. As the inventor of the Tofino Security technology, Eric and his partner Joann guided the product through its evolution from an academic research project and startup to a successful acquisition by Belden Inc (NYSE: BDC). Tofino received numerous industry awards and was licensed by industry giants such as Honeywell, Schneider Electric, and Caterpillar. Today it is probably the most widely deployed ICS-specific firewall in the world.   

In this episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, Eric shares his background and discusses his career trajectory. He also offers many gold nuggets of advice for listeners who would like to do a startup, launch a product, be useful for the industry later on, or use what they already have to add value to the cyber security industry. 

This episode is one you will not want to miss if you are looking to start your career in cyber security or considering starting a company in the cyber security space.

Show highlights:

• Eric started his first business, making and selling root beer when he was about eight years old. He gained some valuable entrepreneurial experience doing that! (2:35)
• His dad bought him a Digi-Comp 1 mechanical digital computer with three bits of memory when he was about eight years old. (5:31)
• Eric's first job after graduating was with a small but prestigious consulting firm that designed mines. They shipped him off to Australia, South Africa, and Columbia. (7:09)
• After three or four years, Eric got out of mining and imbedded himself into the data communications and industrial computer markets. (8:01)
• Eric explains what went on in his early days in control systems. (10:36)
• Writing a peer-reviewed paper for the IEEE on cyber security for control systems while he was at DCIT was a turning point in Eric’s career. (16:30)
• Eric discusses the birth of Tofino Security. (20:35)
• Eric talks about the challenges he faced and offers advice for listeners who would like to follow a similar career path. (22:35)
• Why does he feel that startups have an advantage? (25:48)
• Eric describes the Tofino firewall and explains what is. (26:39)
• Eric talks about his mentors and the advisory roles he has been in. (33:50)
• Eric explains how aDolus came into existence and discusses the complicated software supply chain. (36:40)
• What is an S-bom? How does it differ from a D-bom? (46:02)
• Some advice for listeners who want to start laying the tracks to be on the cutting edge of something or be of value to the cyber security industry. (52:17) 

Links:

(CS)²AI

Eric Byres on LinkedIn

aDolus Technology Inc.

Books mentioned:

The Cuckoo’s Egg by Cliff Stoll