35: How to manage imposter syndrome, with Stuart Coulson

09/13/21 • 79 min

Today's guest is Stuart Coulson, director at Hidden Text Ltd, where he uses the skill sets and knowledge borne of many years in the security industry to help others.
It's probably fair to say that Stuart's journey in cybersecurity hasn't been the most traditional He’s been in sales, recruitment, engineering, working on UK government cybersecurity contracts, to being a deputy CISO. He is now the cybersecurity director of an online gaming company, in addition to managing Hidden Text.
In addition to discussing Stuart's career path in cybersecurity, we chat about managing social media as an infosec professional, and how to deal with imposter syndrome (it's an interesting take - stay with it!). We also discuss how improv comedy relates to cybersecurity, and Stuart has some great advice for anyone who wants to get into mentoring.
In the studio, Ben and Hazel discuss the rise of proxyware abuse, and why organizations and individuals need to be aware of this growing threat. This is based on some excellent research conducted by our Talos team, which you can read more about on this blog.
Also take a look at our brand new ebook, "Creating safe spaces in cybersecurity". This focusses on the topic of mental health and cybersecurity burnout. We’ve captured the stories of 20 people (both leaders and practitioners) from across the cybersecurity industry, and hope that by sharing their experiences, we’ll inspire anyone who is struggling to know they are not alone.
Finally, check out a few of Stuart's Hidden Text articles which we found particularly interesting:
Imposter syndrome does not exist
Dear infosec hiring managers
Episode time stamps:

0.00 - 18.28: Intro and discussing the rise of proxyware abuse
18:29 - 68.45: Interview with Stuart Coulson
68.46 - 79.18: Closing thoughts and outro

Previous Episode

34: From Rockstar to CISO: An Unexpected Journey, with Ian Thornton Trump

It's a warm welcome today to our guest Ian Thornton-Trump, CISO at Cyjax Limited, also known as @phat_hobbit on Twitter.
Ian talks about his career journey, from joining the Military Intelligence Branch of the Canadian Forces, to managing IT projects at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, to being a CISO.
He also shares his top lessons learned from 30 years in the cybersecurity industry, from his paper '8 Leadership Principles' (or, as Ian refers to it "8 of my biggest mistakes").
In the studio, Geraldo, currently studying Film and Television at college, disucsses how cybersecurity is represented in the media. We discuss Mr Robot, Silicon Valley, The Matrix, and how Hollywood has led some accurate (and very inaccurate) portrayals of the industry.
In Threat Corner, Ben takes us through the storied history of the REVil ransomware family, and how the attackers operate under a ransomware-as-a-service model. Follow along at https://blogs.cisco.com/security/threat-protection-the-revil-ransomware
Episode time stamps:
03:20 - 25:23: Cybersecurity in the media
25:24 - 40:53: Ian Thornton Trump interview, Part 1
40:54 - 50:54: Threat Corner: REVil ransomware family
50:55 - 65:47: Ian Thornton Trump interview, Part 2
65:48: Closing thoughts and outro

Next Episode

Falling into IT - standing up in Security, with Pam Lindemoen

Today we're delighted to be joined by Pam Lindemoen, Advisory CISO at Cisco Secure and former Deputy CISO at Anthem Inc.

In this thoughtful interview, learn about Pam's passion for championing women in IT, her approach to learning from mistakes and failure, as well as her top tips to ensure that security and risk can be understood across the entire business.

Pam has gained a well deserved reputation as a bold and strategic thinker, and being an exceptional leader - she shares many of her lessons learned from 25 years in the IT industry in this chat.

Before that, host Hazel shares a tribute to Mick Jenkins MBE, the first ever guest on Security Stories, who recently passed away. She shares her memories of first meeting him, the impact he had, and continues to have, on her work, and she remembers some of his most inspiring stories.

"Never let fear get in the way of your dreams." Mick Jenkins, MBE

For the full Mick interview, listen to episode 1 of the podcast at https://securitystories.buzzsprout.com/926089/2985046-1-from-the-battlefield-to-the-boardroom-with-mick-jenkins-mbe

To learn more about our CISO connections community, visit https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/ciso-connection.html