Security DNA

Former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff: Rising up to meet evolving global security challenges

From Ukraine, Israel and Gaza to the influence of the Houthis in the Red Sea to the ever-present specter of China, the global security environment is brimming with challenges. Add to it the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a presidential election year and the ever-present threat of cybercrime and security officials face a truly complex threat landscape.
In an exclusive interview with SecurityDNA host Steve Lasky, former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, co-founder and executive chairman ofThe Chertoff Group, reveals the trends he sees in the convergence of cyber risk, physical risk, and protecting personnel, global assets and the supply chain. He also discusses his concerns about artificial intelligence and how deepfakes and other deception could impact free and fair elections this year.

Time out with Dean Drako: The evolution of cloud security and a glimpse into the future

In this exclusive interview with SecurityDNA host Steve Lasky, Dean Drako, the founder and CEO of Eagle Eye Networks (EEN) shares the impetus behind his start at Barracuda Networks and eventual migration into the physical security space, the key acquisition of cloud access security company Brivo and the growth of Eagle Eye Networks.
Drako – named one of Goldman Sachs's “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2014” -- talks about the common themes regarding how and why he starts or acquires companies and what the hot topics will be in the security industry five years from now. We even chat a bit about our guest’s pride and joy: Drako Motors, the company he founded that recently launched Drako Dragon – a 2,000-horsepower all-electric hyper-luxury SUV.

Living, learning and building a security enterprise

Our guest on the SecurityDNA podcast this week is Steve Jones, Global Chairman and CEO of Allied Universal, an enterprise that has grown from $12 million in revenue to more than $20 billion with approximately 800,000 employees, making the firm the third-largest private employer in North American and seventh highest in the world. The author of the book No Off Season: The Constant Pursuit of More: A Playbook for Achieving More in Business and Life, Jones will share some of the lessons he learned in his journey from the collegiate football field to the boardroom and describe what it takes to consistently succeed in the business world. Jones also reflects on blockbuster deals that helped create what Allied Universal is today, and why private security has never been more important in the world than it is now.

Building cyber resilience: What to do when the unthinkable occurs

In this edition of the SecurityDNA podcast, SecurityInfoWatch sat down with Stevan Bernard, Senior Security Advisor for International SOS -- a firm that works with global organizations to assess the risks associated with every working environment, from a corporate office to a remote oil rig.
Drawing on his extensive experience in the protection of personnel, content and data and properties in over 50 countries on 6 continents, Bernard discusses impactful lessons learned from the “Guardians of Peace” 2014 hack that released confidential data from the film studio Sony Pictures. He also shares how varied business sectors and organizations can prepare security teams for unexpected disruption and monitor the complex risk environment prevalent today.

Executive Q&A: Convergint’s new CEO, Ann Fandozzi

In this special edition, Security Business editor in chiefPaul Rothman caught up with Convergint’s new CEO,Ann Fandozzi, at ISC West 2024, where they talked about the technology on display at the show, the M&A landscape in the security industry and the future direction for the service-based systems integration company she will be leading. 

The Challenges of Global and Economic Insecurity, and How Manufacturers Can Stay Afloat

It’s undeniable today that  9/11 had changed the global geopolitical scene, and the constant churn of complex threats coming inside and outside the U.S. is creating new physical and cyber threats manufacturers must start accounting for.
Fred Burton, Executive Director of Protective Intelligence at Ontic and one of the world’s foremost authorities on protective intelligence, security, and counterterrorism, shares his insights on how the world threat landscape has changed and how geopolitical conflicts are disrupting the supply chain and damaging the world economy.
Burton reveals how these global threats are interconnected and how security executives should approach monitoring risks and building resilience into their assessment programs. He also discusses the need for manufacturers to step up their game in physical security and recommends several steps to safeguard operations.

Tracking the changing landscape of security management

In this episode we talk with Greg Schneider, CPP, who is President of Battle Tested Solutions, a San Francisco Bay Area-based security consultancy focused on delivering security management strategies, protective intelligence services andtactical response training to domestic and global clientele. Greg will discuss the changing landscapeof security management – including the importance of situational awareness and training, and AI as it relates to both physical and cybersecurity management policy and practice -- with Steve Lasky, editor in chief of the Security Group at Endeavor Business Media.

Mitigating the risks of advanced connected technologies to protect critical infrastructure

In our latest edition of SecurityDNA hosted by editorial director Steve Lasky, ESI Convergent’s CEO and founder, Pierre Bourgeix, tackles the complex issues surrounding industrial controls and operational technology, which he predicts will be of the greatest concern in the next 5 years or more as security threats and risk challenges become more broad-based and global.
Bourgeix also discusses the premise that critical infrastructure security is EVERYWHERE and describes the business risk drivers in this sector.

The importance DEI and how security leaders can change the dynamic

Steve Lasky, the editorial director for the Security Group at Endeavor Business Media, talks with SMR Group co-founder and security industry veteran Jerry Brennan about the corporate security diversity landscape, the underlying causes and factors contributing to a lack of diversity, and what it will take to bring meaningful, lasting change in the industry. SMR has grown to be one of the world’s leading executive search and management consulting firms and its well-known international brand serves clients across diverse industries and sectors in North America, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Defining ‘critical infrastructure’ and best practices for keeping it protected

In this episode Steve Lasky, Editorial Director of the Security Group at Endeavor Business Media, talks critical infrastructure with Ed Levy -- a highly accomplished senior executive currently leading the critical Infrastructure (CI) practice at Noble. Levy and Lasky discuss how to define what CI is, what kind of strategic issues practitioners are facing in the CI space, and important lessons on the introduction and application of new security technologies to protect critical assets.