Derek Harp is happy to have Steve Mustard, President, and CEO of National Automation Inc., joining him on the show today! Steve has been a long-term contributor to the control systems cybersecurity space. 

Steve Mustard is a Licensed Professional Engineer (Texas, Kansas) and UK Chartered Engineer with technical development and management experience in process automation and business process re-engineering across multiple sectors. He is also a volunteer and past president of the International Society of Automation (ISA), a home brewer, cyclist, guitarist, triathlete, husband, and father.

Steve grew up in Sunderland, an industrial region famous for coal mining and shipbuilding in the North East of England. Joseph Swan, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, also came from Sunderland, and Lewis Carroll based much of the Alice in Wonderland story on the times he spent there.

In this episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, Steve shares his backstory, discusses his education, gets into his career trajectory, and offers nuggets of career advice.

You will gain a lot from this show if you are thinking about making a career in cybersecurity or considering moving from a different field into the security space. Stay tuned for more!

Show highlights:

• How and where Steve’s interest in technology, cybersecurity, and control systems engineering disciplines originated.
• The event in 1999 that led to Steve’s first intersection with cybersecurity.
• How the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Center (NICC), now called the Center for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), began in the UK.
• Steve discusses the different areas he gets involved with.
• Why he does not like the idea of cybersecurity always being its own discipline, separate from everything else.
• Steve shares his concerns about digital transformation. 
• You don’t have to conform when selecting a career path. Rather think about what motivates you and what you enjoy doing, and forge your own direction. 
• Steve dives into his volunteer positions with IET and ISA.
• People should be qualified to work in the cybersecurity or automation space. You can take courses and become certified through ISA.
• There are many advantages to informing your career path with knowledge of safety and cybersecurity.
• Steve offers career advice and tips for engineers looking for some additional knowledge.
• Steve shares his concerns for the future of cybersecurity.

Links and resources:

(CS)²AI

National Automation Inc.

Steve Mustard on LinkedIn

Books mentioned:

Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot