Click below to listen to this episode of Strategy Next, where host Jon Lobb sits down with Brittany Greenfield, founder and CEO of Wabbi, to discuss the critical role of foundational security practices, and how organizations can navigate the balance between innovation and risk.

This interview originally appeared on Buzz Sprout on February 12, 2025

Bridging Cybersecurity and Innovation

About the session

This session is an episode of the podcast “Strategy Next,” the podcast features bold ideas and visionary strategies to shape the future of business. The focus of this episode is on cybersecurity, its importance in the digital age, and how startups and enterprises can integrate security into their development processes. The guest is Brittany Greenfield, founder and CEO of Wabbi a company that helps businesses streamline security and development processes.

Key speakers

• Jon Lobb: Host of Strategy Next
• Brittany Greenfield: Founder and CEO of Wabbi, a cybersecurity and development streamlining company

Agenda

The agenda of the session is to discuss the importance of cybersecurity, particularly in the context of the CrowdStrike incident, and to explore how startups and enterprises can prioritize and integrate security into their operations. The conversation also delves into the role of AI in cybersecurity, the challenges of being a female founder in the tech industry, and the importance of having a plan for responding to breaches.

Takeaways

Takeaway 1: A breach can be caused by internal failures, not just external attacks, and it can have lasting impacts on trust and reliability.

Brittany Greenfield emphasized the importance of quality assurance in cybersecurity, noting that the CrowdStrike incident was a wake-up call for many. “It was a breach on so many levels. It was a breach on reliability, it was a breach on trust,” she explained. She highlighted that the CEO of CrowdStrike admitted to a lack of standard QA processes, which led to the failure.

Greenfield also stated, “Your products and that product could be software, it could be a piece of clothing you sell to somebody, are only as good as your processes in delivering them to the customer to deliver on the customer promise.” This underscores the critical role of robust processes in maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of products.

Takeaway 2: Good cybersecurity practices are foundational and should be prioritized, even in the face of multiple competing priorities.

When asked about how entrepreneurs and leaders should prioritize cybersecurity, Greenfield likened it to “brushing your teeth every morning, right? You got to have good hygiene in place.” She stressed the importance of starting with the basics, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), and ensuring that basic security measures are in place from the beginning.

She further elaborated, “It doesn’t have to be complex. Right? It means very simple things like MFA or hey, did somebody check that the software is working the way it’s supposed to.” Greenfield also pointed out that neglecting these basics can lead to significant issues, especially for early-stage companies, where “it will spiral out of control very, very quickly.”

Takeaway 3: AI can enhance productivity and efficiency in cybersecurity, but it must be implemented with caution and proper security measures.

Discussing the role of AI in cybersecurity, Greenfield noted, “It gets to productivity and efficiency. I don’t think we know yet because for all the good, it also introduces bad.” She highlighted the double-edged nature of AI, where it can both increase vulnerabilities and help automate mundane tasks, allowing humans to focus on more strategic work.

She added, “What AI helps us, and this is a broader technology statement, is it takes away the manual work, the medial work that humans aren’t good at. Humans like to problem solve. We’ve seen this already with robotics.” Greenfield also mentioned that while AI can be a powerful tool, it should be used judiciously and securely, emphasizing, “We do have to secure it first before we can really start using it.”

Takeaway 4: The cybersecurity industry faces significant challenges, including a shortage of professionals and the need for better integration with development processes.

Greenfield discussed the 3 million-person shortage in the cybersecurity industry, stating, “And while there’s been this focus on giving developers more autonomy, they’re still not cybersecurity professionals.” She explained that Wabbi’s approach is to bridge the gap between security and development, allowing both teams to coexist and work more efficiently.

She shared a client’s experience, saying, “One of our clients told us they flipped their work from being 75% manual to 25% manual, but more importantly, that 25% manual is now strategic. They get to partner with the development teams and help them problem solve.” This highlights the potential for AI and automation to improve the quality of life for cybersecurity professionals by freeing them from repetitive tasks.

Takeaway 5: Being a female founder in the tech industry comes with unique challenges, including a significant funding gap and a high dropout rate.

Reflecting on her personal experience, Greenfield said, “Being a female in technology. In the scheme of things, I’m not, you actually see founding stats of while I am under 40, I’m on the older side of under 40.” She pointed out the stark funding disparity, noting, “Women only get just over 2% of VC funding and it’s even worse in enterprise software and then in cyber security.”

She also mentioned the broader issue of women dropping out of the tech workforce, saying, “You see half of women more broadly drop out of the tech workforce by age 35.” Greenfield emphasized the importance of addressing these systemic issues to create a more inclusive and equitable environment in the tech industry.

Insights surfaced

• The CrowdStrike incident highlighted the fragility of the digital supply chain and the critical importance of quality assurance in cybersecurity.
• Good data security is like brushing your teeth—simple hygiene practices can prevent significant issues.
• Cybersecurity is not just about preventing breaches; it’s also about managing business risks and ensuring project delivery.
• AI can enhance productivity and efficiency in cybersecurity, but it must be used responsibly and secured properly.
• Startups and SMBs are often the primary targets of cyberattacks due to their perceived lack of sophistication in security.
• Having a plan for responding to breaches, including data recovery and communication protocols, is crucial.
• The cybersecurity industry is facing a significant shortage of professionals, and automation can help alleviate this issue.
• Being a female founder in the tech industry comes with unique challenges, including a significant funding gap compared to male founders.
• The tech industry has a concerning gender wage gap and retention issue, with many women dropping out of tech roles by age 35.

Key quotes

• “Good data security is like brushing your teeth every morning, right? You got to have good hygiene in place.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “The cool thing about cyber is two things. One, we’ll never realize the full potential of any technology that we have if we can’t secure it appropriately.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “Cyber always has to be one step ahead of whatever technology is out there.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “It doesn’t matter what size you are. Good data security is like brushing your teeth every morning, right? You got to have good hygiene in place.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “It’s not if it’s when you get breached. And you also need to have a plan for the after.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “Cybersecurity, if it was its own country, would be the world’s 3rd largest GDP on its own, cybercrime.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “Think every day about what’s going to make you excited about the future and what you need to be paranoid about.” – Brittany Greenfield (quoting a GM from a large tech company)
• “Fears and hopes, I told a GM from a large tech company that I was talking to last week. I was gonna steal this from him. And he said, it, you know, think every day about what’s going to make you excited about the future and what you need to be paranoid about.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “We use AI internally for a lot of marketing. It’s like having your own copy editor.” – Brittany Greenfield
• “There are mitigating protocols you can put in so that if you get breached, data recovery, something like that, being able to restore a laptop.” – Brittany Greenfield