CyberWire Daily - Jaya Baloo: Don't be afraid to bounce ideas off your teammates. [CISO] [Career Notes]

Episode Date: September 18, 2022

Jaya Baloo, a Chief Information Security Officer from Avast sits down to share her story, sharing how she got into the technology field at a younger age with being introduced to computers and games on her PS 24. She started off going to college for political science and after not knowing what to do after that, she got her first start in cybersecurity. After falling in love with cybersecurity she kept moving up the ranks in different organizations before finding herself at Avast. She shares that at Avast she leans on her team quite a bit and you should never be afraid to bounce ideas off of your teammates. She says "The best ideas come from like bouncing ideas off of each other, sharing within the group and then if I can't figure it out myself, that's why I hire these amazing individuals it's to help me figure it out." We thank Jaya for sharing her story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. and VPNs, yet breaches continue to rise by an 18% year-over-year increase in ransomware attacks and a $75 million record payout in 2024. These traditional security tools expand your attack surface with public-facing IPs that are exploited by bad actors more easily than ever with AI tools. It's time to rethink your security. Thank you. Learn more at zscaler.com slash security. I wanted to be a brain surgeon, because why not? And then an astronaut. And then I thought that I wanted to be a diplomat for the United States and try to save the world. I was obsessed with my computer. When I was nine for Christmas, I got a Commodore 64, like I think a whole bunch of other people did. But when I was younger, I also had courses in BASIC, in PS24 in Queens, and I loved it. I was pretty much hooked and so begging for a computer.

I also got into some slightly stately stuff. I still remember my first ever, like, glimpse at the anarchist cookbook. And I thought, but why would you need to know how to have a pipe bomb and how to, you know, unlock a master lock? At the time, I was like, oh, that's pretty neat, actually. So there was all kinds of stuff available online that I don't know. I mean, that's still the case today. Because both my mom and dad worked for the United Nations in New York, I thought I should do the same thing. And I was doing this thing called Model United Nations,

which I was okay at, and we won competitions and stuff. And as a result of which, I thought I should also have a career at the UN because it made sense, and I liked it, and I understood it. at the UN because it made sense and I liked it and I understood it. And I went to university for political science at Tufts University. I had a very bizarre trajectory. I didn't do all too well. And what I was really unsure of is what was the next step? Like,

what should I do? Should I try to kind of stick at it and continue studying this or do something else? And it was total kind of kismet. But I was working at a place called Cybersmith. So it was one of these early internet cafes, but they also had like VR stations and really cool stuff to play with. And things again, that made you excited because technology was accessible and it was democratized and you could get on board for very little money and just try and play. And we were also giving like early classes for how to get different groups online. So we were teaching them about FTP and Gopher, you know, of all things. And I had my first job working for Bankers Trust. Then afterwards, I decided to move to the Netherlands for, at the then time, my boyfriend

and started working at a company called Unisource. And when that disbanded, I then moved from there to KPN Telecom. And at KPN Telecom, I was doing this Unisource thing for a while and then moved over to the internal networks. It was all about riders, firewalls, and switches, and configuration management, and users, and that kind of stuff um and then uh when i felt like i could be doing a lot more and learning a lot more i went from the internal networks to kpn international where they were doing these kinds of projects of building brand new networks but then for other telecommunications providers across the I've always been a bit of a junkie to learn new things. I've always been kind of driven by, I suppose, impact.

And when I did all these things like going all over the planet for these different network build projects, at a certain point in time, I wanted to kind of settle down and have a family. And so I was working with France Telecom Orange for several years, working on group fraud and revenue assurance. Then I worked in the security consultancy part of Verizon Professional Services in the Netherlands. And then while I was there, I had a headhunter call me and ask if I wanted to be the CISO of KPN Telekom, which is the incumbent telecommunications provider in the Netherlands. You know, I've always had like a sort of security thing running through my entire career. And I love working in the area. And I basically took the job.

And at a certain point in time, after seven years, you kind of have to reinvent yourself or do something new. Because otherwise you take great ideas and you kill them by saying, no, we've tried that before or that'll never work because blah, blah, blah. And I think actually just like people deserve new opportunities where they can grow and expand, I think companies also deserve people who think about new opportunities that could be possible and what ifs. And when I wasn't giving that what if

anymore to KPN, I thought it's really time to try something else and to, you know, give someone else a shot at this and also be able to do good things somewhere else and create even more impact. And Avast really appeals because they have an incredibly large user base they do a lot of good work they protect a whole swathe of the population that can't necessarily afford paying

for an av every year but still get the same value protection and that really speaks to me at so many levels and maybe it even goes back to the whole UN thing and the stuff that my parents were trying to do. So I am not a big fan of like traditional managers who just kind of manage stuff. I really believe in agreeing ambitious targets and then I'm there if you need me me, scream for help when stuff goes wrong or you need a bit of nudging or bouncing ideas off the wall, that's fine. But I do not want to be on top of people. I think that, you know, we hire professionals, we hire seniors very often. And I really expect them to kind of get on with it and only like break class in case of emergency.

to kind of get on with it and only like break class in case of emergency. I'm not a big fan of being micromanaged by anyone. That irritates the crap out of me. So I never want to do that to someone else. So I really pretty much tend to leave people to get on with it with the crazy ambition and the forward-looking goals that we set in the beginning and that they just achieve on objective. I lean on my team when I'm not such a happy camper only because they are probably my greatest source of inspiration and I think it's possible for everyone to hit a roadblock when they're staring at their own navel the best ideas come from like bouncing ideas off of each other sharing within the group and then if I can't figure it out myself that's why I hire these amazing individuals it's to help me figure it out. So I very often get out of my slump

by having a little party in my slump with others. I mean, the biggest gift you can give yourself is this thing of constant learning. It's such a privilege to be able to kind of let your curiosity have free reign. I would encourage you to do that, but I'm a little bit ADHD myself and a teeny tiny bit perfectionist. So I think, you know, being kind to yourself and encouraging that curious kid that you have in you, while not being too hard on yourself, when you procrastinate a little bit, be kind and appreciate what you are getting done and the effort you are making and the things that are going well,

rather than just, you know, the self-flagellation for the things you haven't. I really want to make a difference. And when I was younger, all I wanted to do was discover new things. I don't think I've done too much of that, but I'm maybe being mean to myself now. I hope that people think that I've done good things and made a difference. And maybe I still have some time to discover something new. Thank you. threats are evolving every second, and staying ahead is more than just a challenge. It's a necessity. That's why we're thrilled to partner with ThreatLocker, a cybersecurity solution trusted

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