Q & A Round with Ed Sleiman (Head of Information Security, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology)

What is the hot topic of the year in the current cyber landscape?

Like every year and it’s not getting any better: Cyber talent shortage.

What are some of the biggest threats, that are not being talked about enough?

Unintentional insider threats

How do you react to constantly changing threats in the market?

Continuous risk management

How do you quantify risk?

By understanding, your threats and vulnerabilities

In the event of a data breach, what is your response plan?

Very detailed, but most importantly should be constantly tested

What are some of your favorite "new" technologies or tools

BAST, The Human Firewall Program, and deception technologies

What are some of the key components to succeeding as a CISO in today’s business environment?

Governance and roles and responsibilities with a proper reporting line

What are the three things that you as CISO look at first to assess an organization’s cybersecurity readiness?

People, Process, and Technology.

If you had a time machine, what advice would you give yourself at the beginning of your career in cyber?

I would focus on soft skills early on, such as relationship building, communications, negotiations, etc.

You are set to the stage at Black Hat MEA this November, what can our audience expect from your session, and what are you most excited about?

Sweat equity goes a long way. With my 37 years of experience 12 out of which as a professional instructor at George Washington University where I moved from designing systems and databases to programming and from biometric security to cybersecurity, and tens of conferences at which I spoke, it will enrich the audience’s knowledge and provide them with taste of the freshly squeezed juice of that experience.