COVER STORY
nd-user
Mark Ferguson, CISO of Bombardier
Mark Ferguson, CISO
of Bombardier, discusses
the benefits for CISOs of
building a strong network
of connections and
communicating with security
leaders to create security
strategies that will stand up
to increasingly organised and
sophisticated cyberthreats.
WHY CISOS NEED TO
WORK TOGETHER
AGAINST ORGANISED
CYBERTHREATS
ne of the defining traits
O
of the cybersecurity
sector is its rapid pace
and ceaseless changes.
Mark Ferguson, CISO of Bombardier,
said that having worked in this sector for
more than 15 years and having had the
privilege to spend much of that in senior
leadership positions, he has witnessed
first-hand the way that security teams
must constantly strive to keep up with
the evolving technology and tactics
of cybercriminals. Threat actors have
become increasingly organised in recent
years, working in gangs, sharing tools
and tactics, and even selling ready-made
access to compromised networks.
Ferguson’s career started more than
a decade and a half ago. He has now
acquired extensive experience in the
sector. “I began my journey towards
security leadership in 2004 when I
was working for a controls business
that was acquired by Honeywell,
the multinational conglomerate
best known for its engineering and
aerospace businesses. After earning
my CISSP, I developed through several
different roles at Honeywell including
acquisitions, security architecture and
risk assessment, before moving to the
management side of cybersecurity within
the corporate global security team. My
time with the risk assessment team gave
me the opportunity to work closely with
security leaders and other executives,
enabling me to build relationships
and establish trust and credibility. I
eventually took the role of Director of
Risk Assessment in 2010 and then
progressed to the CISO role in 2015.
“In late 2019, I eventually left Honeywell
to become CISO at Bombardier. As
CISO at Bombardier, I have taken on
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