Episode 34 - 6 Key Security Steps Companies Should Take Right Now with Sammy Basu

Sammy Basu is the founder of Careful Security. He helps businesses reduce their CyberSecurity risks without impacting user experience. He uses his experience of working at Fortune 100 companies for the last 20 years to make sure security is seamless. CyberSecurity can be successful only when people adopt and accept it as part of normal business operations.

Sammy shares so much great information and I know you are going to get a great value out of this episode. Sammy shares six key steps that companies should take right now to protect their business. He also shares many practical and basic steps you can take right now to protect your personal and professional workspaces.

Show Notes:

• [00:52] Sammy shares how he got into cybersecurity. He started in the early 2000s as a network administrator.
• [02:21] People attack things that are more widely used.
• [03:34] With security we have to identify the nature of the business. Security is built on the culture of the company.
• [06:09] A security professional has to be a creative person. Security is where art and science converge. There is no particular approach that works for every company.
• [07:12] You have to segment your personal from your professional.
• [08:48] Hackers want to do a quick job, so remove the low hanging fruit. Do the simple things to be secure.
• [11:02] Sammy encourages the CIOs to extend their help desk support.
• [11:57] The first step is to secure the human link.
• [13:51] Security has to be every employee's responsibility.
• [14:37] The second step is to secure your passwords. Adopt a password manager and multi-factor identification.
• [17:10] Sammy is strongly against having your web browser remember your passwords.
• [19:26] Security is an exercise in risk management. Put in controls according to your assets.
• [22:24] Not securing legacy pieces of software with the same level of security can be an easy back door.
• [23:53] Scan your assets continuously for potential vulnerabilities and have a process in place for triaging what the scanner finds.
• [24:25] Security is built out of three parts. It is people, processes, and technology. The first step is to understand the business.
• [26:06] Companies are not proactively investing in security because they think it is an additional cost.
• [27:15] There are no shortcuts. You have to do the hard work and don’t burn bridges. Be nice to people.
• [28:36] A key trend Sammy is seeing is cybersecurity becoming part of every area of our lives. Watch the news to be aware of the type of attacks that are happening.
• [30:13] Sammy shares his best worst boss story.
• [30:52] Have a boss that looks out for your interests and has the best for you in mind.
• [32:12] Dan shares one of his best worst boss stories.
• [34:41] It is important to get away from your regular environment. It will reduce your stress in half and get fresh ideas in your head.

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Careful Security
• Sammy on LinkedIn
• Have I Been Pwned?