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

About Mike Privette

Mike is a cybersecurity practitioner and entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience growing and leading cybersecurity organizations in the Financial Services and Insurance industries. Mike is currently the CISO of Passport, a Charlotte, NC-based mobile parking, ticketing, and enforcement SaaS platform. Prior to joining Passport, Mike founded and sold his cybersecurity consulting business, Fraction Consulting, and operated as a Divisional CISO for Truist Financial.