Radio Entrepreneurs host, Jeffrey Davis interview with Wabbi’s Founder & CEO Brittany Greenfield on intellectual curiosity in cybersecurity.  

This interview originally appeared on Radio Entrepreneurs October 5, 2023

About the session

The session is an episode of Radio Entrepreneurs, a podcast dedicated to entrepreneurial discussions. In this episode, the host Jeffrey Davis, CEO of Mage LLC, interviews Brittany Greenfield, CEO and founder of Wabbi. The conversation revolves around cybersecurity, the importance of bridging the gap between security and development, and the challenges and opportunities in the cybersecurity industry.

Key speakers

1. Jeffrey Davis – Host of Radio Entrepreneurs, CEO of Mage LLC
2. Brittany Greenfield – CEO and Founder of Wabbi

Agenda

The main agenda of the session is to discuss the role and importance of cybersecurity in today’s digital world. The conversation also touches on the role of Wabbi in orchestrating application security processes as part of software development and the challenges in the cybersecurity industry.

Takeaways

Takeaway 1: The cybercrime industry is growing and poses a significant threat to the digital world.

The webinar highlighted that cybercrime is a serious and growing issue, with it projected to be an $8 trillion business this year. “One of my favorite facts is the fact that cybercrime this year is going to be an $8 trillion business. So if you pair that with I’m…It would be the third largest economy in the world behind the US. And China, if it was its own country” said Brittany Greenfield. The speakers emphasized the need for increased security measures and awareness to mitigate the dangers of cybercrime.

Greenfield also noted that the prevalence of cybercrime impacts our ability to fully leverage the digital world. She explained, “It really impacts our ability to leverage the full extent of the digital world that we live in when we’re not securing things appropriately. And I think that’s the biggest challenge that people have nowadays”.

She continued to say the goal is to find a balance between what risk we’re willing to take on as individuals and companies, and the ability to move forward. “So how do you actually find that balance between what risk we’re willing to take on as individuals, as companies, and the ability to move forward?” she added.

Takeaway 2: The need to bring people, process, and tools together for effective cybersecurity.

Greenfield highlighted the importance of bringing together people, process, and tools for effective cybersecurity. She explained, “As technologists, we’re actually trained that you start with people, then process and then the tools. And I think with the rapid pace that cybercrime has grown, everybody just went straight for the tools.”

She further emphasized that understanding people and their different roles is crucial in developing proper technology. “Understanding the world that we live in and why we talk about bridging the gap between security and development is development and security have very different goals. There are potential different personalities that go into them,” she explained.

She concluded that it’s important to remember who the technology is being developed for and how it helps solve their problems. Greenfield pointed out, “I think technologists need to go… I think we forget who are the people that are using this and how are we solving their pain?”

Takeaway 3: The role of intellectual curiosity in cybersecurity

Greenfield highlighted the role of intellectual curiosity in cybersecurity, stating that it’s not just for hackers or coders. She said, “the best folks in cybersecurity are intellectually curious people, nerds, if you will. Not just people that necessarily have hands on keys hacking experience, because the way we’re going to solve this problem is really more about thinking in different ways.”

Greenfield stressed the importance of being curious and wanting to solve complex problems in cybersecurity, regardless of one’s background. She stated, “You can come from any background and get into cybersecurity, and it’s just a place to be curious and want to solve tough problems.”

Greenfield concluded by encouraging more people to consider a career in cybersecurity, emphasizing that it’s an industry that requires a variety of perspectives and skills.

Insights surfaced

– Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing industry due to the increase in cybercrime, which is projected to be an $8 trillion business this year.

– Wabbi bridges the gap between security and development by orchestrating the application security processes as part of software development.

– The cybersecurity industry has become overly focused on tools, neglecting the importance of people and processes.

– There is a need for a balance between security risk and overall business risk.

– Understanding the personas using the technology is crucial in developing effective solutions.

Key quotes

1. “One of my favorite facts is the fact that cybercrime this year is going to be an $8 trillion business.” – Brittany Greenfield

2. “I think the best folks in cybersecurity are intellectually curious people, nerds, if you will. Not just people that necessarily have hands on keys hacking experience.” – Brittany Greenfield

3. “We’ve gotten so focused in the cybersecurity technology industry on shinier solutions, right? We deal obviously a lot with DevOps, and so there’s a bias to say, oh, you have a new DevOps tool. We have a tool to go secure that.” – Brittany Greenfield

4. “We have all the tools, we’ve got the people on board, and now we’ve got to sort of figure out what is the process to actually deploy good security.” – Brittany Greenfield

5. “Understanding the world that we live in and why we talk about bridging the gap between security and development is development and security have very different goals.” – Brittany Greenfield

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