Career Notes

Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum. Dr. Andrew Hammond, shares how he came to share the history of espionage and intelligence as a career. Starting out in the Royal Air Force when 9/11 happened, Andrew found himself trying to understand what was going on in the world. Studying history and international relations gave him some perspective and led him on his career path which incl...

Chief Executive Officer and Founder of TAG Cyber, Ed Amoroso, shares how he learned on the job and grew his career. In his words, Ed "went from my dad having an ARPANET connection and I'm learning Pascal, to Bell Labs, to CISO, to business, to quitting, to starting something new. And now I'm riding a new exponential up and it's a hell of a ride." Hear from Ed how he sees security as a side dish th...

Manager in BARR Advisory's Cyber Risk Advisory Practice, Hannah Kenney, shares her journey from never considering technology as a career to having it click in an informations systems class in college. After noticing she was the only one in the room who enjoyed the lecture, Hannah knew she wanted to go down the technology route. In talking about her work, Hannah describes it as creative problem sol...

Distinguished Security Strategist at Splunk, Ryan Kovar, shares his journey that started in the US Navy and how it contributed to his leadership in life after the military. Cutting his teeth as sysadmin on the USS Kitty Hawk, Ryan worked as a contractor following the Navy. At Splunk, he leads the SURGe research team to solve what he calls the "blue collar for the blue team problems". He works hard...

Associate Director at Raytheon Intelligence and Space in the Cyber Protection Services Division Anisha Patel always loved math and it defined her career journey. As a first-generation American from an Asian household, Anisha said she was destined for a STEM-focused career and chose electrical engineering. She began her career and remains at Raytheon (formerly E-Systems) working in several areas of...

Director of Google Cloud's Office of the CISO, MK Palmore, dedicated much of his life to public service and now brings his experience working for the greater good to the private sector. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, including the Naval Academy Prep School that he calls the most impactful educational experience of his life, MK commissioned into the US Marine Corps following his service academ...

Ground Labs' Head of Engineering, Swati Shekhar, shares her circuitous route from and back to engineering. Always being interested in leveraging the tools available to solve problems, Swati talks about how she found her place in engineering. She mentions how she had her first real experience with a computer when she was 17 in her first year at college. Aside from being one of 30 young women in a s...

Senior Vice President for Strategy, Partnerships, and Corporate Development at IronNet Cybersecurity, Jamil Jaffer, shares how his interest in technology brought him full circle. Always a tech guy, Jamil paid he way through college doing computer support. Jamil went to law school and worked in various jobs in Washington DC including a stint in the newly-created National Security division of the Ju...

Jadee Hanson, CIO and CISO at Code 42, started her technology journey thanks to the help of a teacher in high school. She began college studying computer science and ended with a degree in computer information systems as it had more of the business side. Working in the private sector for companies such as Deloitte, Target and Code 42, Jadee gained experience and specialized in insider risk. She no...

Distinguished Cloud Strategist at Lacework, Mark Nunnikhoven, has gone from taking technology to its limits for his own understanding to providing clarity about security for others. Mark fell in love with his Commodore 128 and once he realized he could bend the machine to his will, it set him on the path to technology. While he had some bumps in the road, dropping out of high school and not follow...

Linux and Security Advocate at Intezer Ell Marquez shares her journey from the family ranch to security. Needing a life change due to a bunch of circumstances that had occurred that left her almost homeless, Ell found out about a six week Linux boot camp that took her down the path toward technology. She fell in love with security at at BSides Conference and hasn't looked back. Ell says she recent...

Lieutenant in the US Navy and Skillbridge Fellow at the CyberWire, Brandon Karpf, knew he wanted to join the military at a young age. He achieved that through the US Naval Academy where he was a member of the men’s heavyweight rowing team. Commissioned as a cryptologic warfare officer, Brandon was sent to MIT for a graduate degree where he experienced the exact opposite of the Naval Academy’s high...

Product Manager in Anti-Fraud Solutions at SpyCloud, Pattie Dillon shares her journey from raising her family to specializing in the anti-fraud space. Upon reentering the workforce, Pattie worked on identity verification and developed a system with privacy concerns in mind. She moved to work in gift cards and was exposed to money laundering. Traveling along the fraud spectrum, Pattie learned about...

Host of the CyberWire Podcast, Dave Bittner, wanted to work with the Muppets, so naturally he landed in cybersecurity. Dave and his Cookie Monster puppet spent much of his childhood putting on shows for his parents friends. During one of those performances, he was discovered and got his start at the local PBS station. A radio, television and film major in college, Dave owned his own company and as...

Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security Limor Kessem says she started her cybersecurity career by pure chance. Limor made a change from her childhood dream of being a doctor and came into cybersecurity with her passion, investment, discipline, and perseverance. Limor talks about how we must tighten our core security and at the same time we allow innovation to help us move forward with the times...

Chief Scientist at LivePerson Joe Bradley takes us down his circuitous career journey that led him back to math. Joe had many ambitions from opera singer to middle school teacher, spent some time at two national labs and went back to his first love of math and physics. He notes that many of the most mathematically intuitive people that he's met are people that also have a creative outlet and a lot...

CEO and co-founder of Sternum, Natali Tshuva shares how she took her interest in science and technology and made a career and company out of it. Beginning her computer science undergraduate degree at age 14 through a special program in Israel, Natali says it opened up a new world for her. Her required service in the IDF found Natali as a member of Unit 8200, the Israeli intelligence. In the Israel...

Chief Technology Officer of ActiveNav Rich Hale takes us through his career aspirations of board game designer (one he has yet to realize), through his experience with the Royal Air Force to the commercial sector where his firm works to secure dark data. During his time in the Air Force, Rich was fortunate to serve on a wide range of different platforms from training aircraft to bombers, and all t...

Vice President for Cyber and Information Solutions within Mission Systems at Northrop Grumman, Jennifer Walsmith takes us on her pioneering career journey. Following in her father's footsteps at the National Security Agency, Jennifer began her career out of high school in computer systems analysis. Jennifer notes she saw the value of a college degree and at her parents' urging attended night schoo...

Chief Security Officer, Chief Analyst, and Senior Fellow at the CyberWire, Rick Howard, shares his travels through the cybersecurity job space. The son of a gold miner who began his career out of West Point in the US Army, Rick worked his way up to being the Commander of the Army's Computer Emergency Response Team. Rick moved to the commercial sector working for Bruce Schneier running Counterpane'...

Business Information Security Officer at S&P Global Ratings, Alyssa Miller, joins us to talk about her journey to become a champion to create a welcoming nature and acceptance of diversity in the cybersecurity community. Starting her first full-time tech position while still in college, Alyssa noted the culture shock being in both worlds. Entering as a programmer and then moving to pen testing whe...

Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum. Dr. Andrew Hammond, shares how he came to share the history of espionage and intelligence as a career. Starting out in the Royal Air Force when 9/11 happened, Andrew found himself trying to understand what was going on in the world. Studying history and international relations gave him some perspective and led him on his career path which incl...

Chief Product Officer at Cybint Solutions, Ingrid Toppelberg, shares her journey from consulting to bootcamp coach and cybersecurity education. As a young girl, Ingrid wanted to do everything from being a teacher to the head of the World Bank. After consulting for several years, Ingrid found cybersecurity. What she found fascinating about the cyber world is how important it is for absolutely every...

CEO of ActiveNav, Peter Baumann, takes us on his career journey from minor home electrical experiments to the business of data discovery. He began his career as an electrical engineer, but felt an entrepreneurial spirit was part of his makeup. Following his return to college to study business and finance, Peter talks about being set on the path to shine the light on the data to provide discovery c...

Senior Threat Analyst and Shift Lead for VMware Taree Reardon shares her journey to becoming leader for women in the cybersecurity field. A big gamer who has always been interested in hacking and forensics, Taree found her passion while learning about cybersecurity. She's dedicated to diversity and inclusion and found her footing on a team made up of 50% women. Taree spends her days tracking and b...