Intelligent CISO Issue 37 | Page 71

We need to make identity ubiquitous in our daily digital and physical interactions . to defend against bad actors , we need to fix what is broken . Digital Identity – identifying individuals online is failing and with it , Digital Trust . If we fix Digital Identity , we lay the foundations for Digital Trust in our online world and we can enjoy online services without fear of fraud and scams .

GO PHISH

WE ‘ GO PHISHING ’ WITH SAEED AHMAD , MANAGING DIRECTOR , MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA , CALLSIGN , WHO TELLS US ABOUT

LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE .

wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the cybersecurity industry ?

I ’ ve had many memorable moments in my career ; however , in terms of achievements , it ’ s what I ’ m doing today setting up and expanding
Callsign as the de facto Digital Identity provider in the MENA region . We are partnering with amazing investors and working with innovative customers who really understand the need for seamless and secure digital identification in today ’ s world .
What first made you think of a career in cybersecurity ?
Security has always been a consistent part of everything I ’ ve done in my career at IBM , KPMG and Lloyds Banking Group . The opportunity around Identity has been staring me in the face for the past few years . While we will continue

We need to make identity ubiquitous in our daily digital and physical interactions . to defend against bad actors , we need to fix what is broken . Digital Identity – identifying individuals online is failing and with it , Digital Trust . If we fix Digital Identity , we lay the foundations for Digital Trust in our online world and we can enjoy online services without fear of fraud and scams .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
My management style has adapted over the years and I ’ m still learning . I ’ ve learnt that no one style fits all and I ’ ve been fortunate to have been surrounded by many great leaders from whom to learn from . I think we adopt the most appropriate style depending on the outcome we want to achieve .
What do you think is the current hot cybersecurity talking point ?
Digital Identity . It ’ s here and now . I was watching my young daughter access my iPad the other day and my heart sank . She ’ s already conditioned to using a passcode to get access to her favourite websites and applications . We need to make these interactions more human and more intuitive and furthermore we need to make identity ubiquitous in our daily digital and physical interactions . We ’ re seeing significant investment in securely identifying people online using inherence factors , swipe or type together with location and device fingerprinting . This makes our interactions with technology more natural and less onerous , but equally www . intelligentciso . com
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