Security Leadership Roundtable

Date & Time: Tuesday 18th July 9am-11am

Location: Burns Sheehan's London office, EC4R 9AD

Refreshments: Breakfast spread with tea, coffee & juices

This was an intimate event, giving our attendees the opportunity to expand their networks and bounce ideas off of other seasoned Security & DevOps leaders in the tech community.

Throughout this year so far, we’ve hosted a variety of roundtables with Software Engineering leaders, Data leaders and CDOs, and women in tech leadership. The goal is to create a space where everyone can openly discuss the challenges they face within their teams and share valuable insights and strategies that have worked for others. We’ve had really positive feedback so far on these, which is why we created a similar forum for our DevOps & Security network.

We were joined by Security, Cloud & Platform Leaders for a practical discussion around the biggest challenges facing security leaders right now, all based on valuable discussions we've been having with our network. We packed a lot into 1.5 hours, digging into the delicate balance between scaling and keeping agile whilst handling tech debt and legacy systems, and the right approach to automation. Plus how to cultivate a security culture among teams and shift mindset, and the impact of AI on the industry.
 
Interestingly, the conversation consistently circled back to a crucial point - ownership and empowerment. We all agreed the bottom line is, that it's about fostering a culture where everyone shares the responsibility for security.
 
From senior leaders being comfortable with vulnerability and openly seeking guidance when unsure, to team members "unicorning" whenever they spot an unsecured laptop (yeah, that's a thing now! 🦄). There's no secret formula, but multiple approaches to try and see what works best for each unique business and its culture.
 
Here are some of the key takeaways from the session:
💡 Your personal data is precious - take protecting it seriously.
💡 The security of a team is only as strong as its most vulnerable member. Everyone plays a crucial role in maintaining a robust defense.
💡 AI is like a genie out of the bottle 🧞‍♂️,but its implementation requires careful consideration and established processes to make sure it’s used effectively and securely.
 
A huge thank you to Phil Knight Greg S. Matthew Copperwaite Maurizio Abba David Coles Rob Johnson Will Ferguson and to Cary Vidal, CISSP for moderating and keeping the discussion lively and engaging. We'll be looking to host another after summer, so if it's something you'd be interested in hearing more about or joining for the next one, please reach out to our Head Of Platform Engineering and Infrastructure, tomd@burnssheehan.co.uk