In April and May, Ardent Partners hosted The CPO Rising 2K20 Virtual Series – The Resiliency Imperative as a way to bring together our global community of procurement, finance, and supply management professionals and collectively tackle the big issues we were all facing and continue to face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 2,300 people participated in the 20 virtual sessions including our livestream summit. We also had 27 experts share their ideas and insights. Once the dust settled on the series, Andrew went back to interview many of these leaders so we could learn a little bit more about them and their companies. We’re also working on a plan to replay many of the sessions, so stay tuned.

During the CPO Rising 2K20 Virtual Series, cyber security expert Dr. Marcus K. Rogers, Ph.D., CISSP, CCCI, DFCP, joined us to for a session on how cyber-security risks would be exacerbated in the face of a work-from-home technological landscape. Andrew Bartolini caught up with Dr. Rogers earlier this week and below is a transcript of their discussion.

Andrew Bartolini: Marcus, thank you for spending some time with me today. Could we start with a quick background on yourself and your work?

Marcus Rogers: Hello Andrew, I am a professor and executive director of cybersecurity programs for the Purdue Polytechnic Institute (PPI), Purdue University. I have a background in academia, private sector consulting (I was the first Cybersecurity Officer for the Vancouver Stock Exchange) and Law Enforcement (Detective in a Computer Crime Unit in Winnipeg Canada). The cyber security program in the Dept of Computer & Information Technology in the PPI, is one of the top cybersecurity & forensics programs in the country and has approx. 500 students majoring in this area.

AB: How did you find yourself working in the cybersecurity industry?

MR: When I was working in Law Enforcement, I became interested in people who committed computer crimes. I got my PhD in Forensic Psychology and began focusing on understanding who commits computer crime and why. Combining this with a deep technical background opened a lot of doors to pursue a career in cybersecurity.

AB: Who would you say has been a major influence on your career?

MR: A big influence was the author William Gibson and his books on cyberspace and the futuristic cyberspace society/culture. His novels made me start thinking of how technology would be drastically changing our world.

AB: Well, he’s certainly right. What do you think companies should be paying attention to now in regards to cybersecurity, in the short-term, and in the future?

MR: Companies need to pay attention to the fact that the new business norm means no longer knowing where your company’s digital boundaries start or end. Teleworkers are the new norm and as such, cyber security controls and risk management need to extend beyond the traditional corporate network infrastructure. Cyber security awareness needs be part of everyone’s mindset.

AB: This decade has has had a rough start, but it will eventually right itself.  What is something you hope we will have in cybersecurity but do not have currently and/or is there something you’d like to exist by 2030?

MR: The one thing I would like to see exist by 2030 is vendors baking security into their products and devices by default. I think we will see a trend toward more of a focus on the human component of cybersecurity and how, while people are currently the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, they can and must become the strongest. We need to see a cultural shift where cybersecurity is considered a personal responsibility. What I don’t want to see is more technology claiming to be the panacea, this will never be the case, as technical solutions are only one variable in the complex formula.

AB: During the shutdown, what was the best or most interesting thing you watched, read, or seen? 

MR: I found myself re-watching Johnny Mnemonic. It is fascinating how this old sci-fi movie kind of captures the dystopia we currently find ourselves in and the role that tech plays in culture.

AB: Hah! Over the last month, my son has gotten way into a few other Keanu Reeves action movies. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to meet with me today. Stay safe!

MR: My pleasure. Nice talking with you as well.

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Tagged in: CPO, CPO Rising 2K20, CPO Rising Summit, cyber security, People, Procurement, Risk Management, Talent Management, Technology, The Resiliency Imperative