GO PHISH
WE ‘GO PHISH’ WITH RICHARD ORANGE,
REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF UK&I AT
FORESCOUT, WHO TELLS US THAT COMPANIES
NEED TO BE ABLE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS THEY ARE UP
AGAINST IN THE CYBERSECURITY WORLD.
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement in
the cybersecurity industry?
Honestly, I think it’s the network that
I’ve developed over the years. I’ve
been very fortunate to work with some
incredibly talented people on some very
transformative projects. Lots of them
went well, some not so well, but through
those experiences I’ve developed some
really great relationships that have lasted
many years. More recently, I’d say the
first 12 months at Forescout as we were
building out the UK business, were very
exciting. I’m not sure I’ve ever worked
in such a fast-paced environment which
was great to be part of.
Changing future
actions by learning
from previous ones
is more important
than thinking about
changing what is
already done.
What first made you think of a
career in cybersecurity?
Funnily enough, it technically happened
more by luck than judgement. Prior to
working in cybersecurity, I specialised
in infrastructure, specifically helping
customers build virtual desktop
platforms. I changed jobs to a company
that happened to specialise in both
infrastructure and
cyber. After about
three months, I
figured out the
cybersecurity side of
the business was way
more interesting and
faster moving, so I
immersed myself
in it and never
looked back.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with
your current position?
When I first started out looking for a
job in tech, I didn’t have any technical
qualifications and was given a chance
by somebody who saw my potential.
Looking back, this was pivotal to being
where I am now, so I truly believe that
recognising and nurturing people’s
talents is the best way to help them
develop professionally. Showing
empathy and understanding people’s
point of view helps with this and allows
me to communicate and manage
effectively, while
still providing
people with room
to grow.
What do you think is the current
hot cybersecurity talking point?
Something that I believe is more
important now than ever is for
companies to be able to know what it
is they are up against. Until they have
visibility of their attack surface, why
invest huge sums of money into cyber
solutions that only partially address their
needs, especially if there are areas of
risk that they’re not yet aware of? The
big wins in cyber are when companies
do the basics really well, so I’m of
the opinion that basic cyberhygiene
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