Security Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault

It’s said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, but under the proper management – management with a keen eye towards investing in its own people – there is no such thing as a weak link, only an opportunity for growth.  In this episode, Microsoft CISO Bret Arsenault talks with Geoff Belknap, colleague and fellow CISO at LinkedIn, about what it means to build a team, not of experts, but of intrepid thinkers willing to learn something new and invest in themselves to grow. In This Episode You Will Learn:  Why investing in people without a ‘necessary’ skill can be more beneficial than hiring someone who checks all the boxes  Why focusing on yourself, in whatever way that manifests, is so crucial to a successful team  How security is fundamentally an interdisciplinary field  Some Questions We Ask:  How do we solve the gender gap in the industry?  What are some of the things Geoff has learned over the past year?  How do you promote employees and team members investing in themselves?  Resources: Geoff Belknap’s LinkedInBrett Arsenault’s LinkedInRelated:Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann JohnsonListen to: Security UnlockedDiscover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcastsSecurity Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network.

There’s truth in the sentiment, “teamwork makes the dream work.” When team members don’t feel included or heard in their environment, they’re not going to do their best work, so it’s up to managers, supervisors, and even global security directors to foster a workplace and culture that doesn’t allow anyone to be silenced. On this episode, Microsoft’s CISO, Bret Arsenault, sits with his friend and peer, Emma Smith, Director of Global Cybersecurity for Vodafone. Throughout the conversation, they discuss returning to in-person work after over a year of being remote and some of the inherent difficulties that come with the change, especially as they relate to inclusivity.In This Episode You Will Learn:  How focusing on digital society, inclusion for all, and the planet allows for practical actions Why 5G is so important for a hybrid workforce Why Emma and Bret support eliminating passwords Some Questions We Ask:  How does Emma look at inclusion initiatives from an industry perspective?  What is ‘withstander’ training and why is it crucial for effective leadership?  What are Emma’s three points of wisdom for security practitioners?   Resources:Emma Smith’s LinkedInBrett Arsenault’s LinkedInRelated:Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann JohnsonListen to: Security UnlockedDiscover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcastsSecurity Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network.

Behind all the innovations at Microsoft are teams of incredibly talented people - over 100,000 incredibly talented people to be exact - spread across 100 countries. With such a large workforce, it was no small feat for Microsoft to pivot into remote work when the pandemic began. Following the transition, discussions have examined how these changes impacted the business and affected the bottom line, but at the forefront of many conversations is the focus on the human element. In this episode, host Bret Arsenault is joined by Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, Human Resources & Corporate Functions. Amy talks with Bret about her unique perspective of the corporate landscape, how she’s been able to foster success for the hundreds of thousands of employees she oversees, and what she’s learned by being a member of Microsoft’s Covid Response Team.  In This Episode You Will Learn:  Why coming back to the office may work better in stages How HR looks through the noise in surveys and analytics to find employee sentiment Amy’s first three steps in putting together a hybrid plan for the workplace Some Questions We Ask:  How do you create a return-to-office plan that works for over 100,000 people?  How is Microsoft looking at the future of work?  How should managers be trained for this new future of work?    Resources: Amy Coleman’s LinkedInBrett Arsenault’s LinkedInRelated:Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann JohnsonListen to: Security UnlockedDiscover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcastsSecurity Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network.

Lululemon has been on the forefront of athleisure wear since its founding in 1998, but while many of its customers look at it exclusively as a fashion brand, at a deeper level this fashion empire is bolstered by a well thought-out and maintained digital infrastructure that relies on a hard working team to run it.  On today’s episode, Microsoft CISO Bret Arsenault sits down with Venki Krishnababu, SVP of Global Technology Services at Lululemon, to discuss the ways in which technology plays into the brand. Venki explains how he led a seamless transition into the remote work landscape caused by the pandemic, and how he’s using the experiences of the past year to influence future growth in the company.  In This Episode You Will Learn:  Why Venki feels so passionately about leading with empathy  Why Venki saw moving to remote work as only the tip of the iceberg; and how he handled what laid below Specific tools and practices that have lead to Venki’s success  Some Questions We Ask:  What is the biggest lesson learned during the pandemic?  How does one facilitate effective management during this time?  How does Lululemon view the future of in-person versus remote work?  Resources: Venki Krishnababu’s LinkedInBrett Arsenault’s LinkedInRelated:Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann JohnsonListen to: Security UnlockedDiscover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcastsSecurity Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network.

Something special can happen when you bring brilliant people together for a conversation, and over the course of this limited series we’re bringing you six incredible discussions between the top minds in the tech industry to prove it. For our inaugural episode of Security Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault, Bret sits down with Microsoft’s Mark Russinovich to have a conversation as colleagues and friends. What ensued was an in-depth conversation about the intricacies of digital information security and the vital role of the cloud. As the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft’s Azure, Mark has a unique perspective on cloud technologies and offers insight into the changes that have occurred over the past few years due to advancing technology and the unique challenges brought about during the coronavirus pandemic. In This Episode You Will Learn:  The initialism FFUUEE and why it’s important in understanding people’s resistance to adopting newer security capabilities  Mark Russinovich’s three points of advice for those looking to become more secure  Theories on improving MFA adoption across the board  Some Questions We Ask:  How do we think of cloud security now versus ten years ago?  What does a leading engineer think of moving toward a hybrid workforce?  How do you find and screen potential new team members in a remote world?  Resources: Mark Russinovich’s LinkedInBrett Arsenault’s LinkedInRelated:Listen to: Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann JohnsonListen to: Security UnlockedDiscover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcastsSecurity Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault is produced by Microsoft and distributed as part of The CyberWire Network.