The Security Hippie, Part 1 – Barak Engel – SCW #99
Author of "Why CISOs Fail" is joining us today to tell us about the success of his first book as well as introduce us to his forthcoming book, "Security Hippie. Barak is best known for pioneering the concept of the virtual (or fractional) CISO model nearly two decades ago. Over the twenty years since then he has applied that model and strategy to building, managing and counseling security departments across countless and diverse organizations, including MuleSoft, Amplitude Analytics, Livenation/Ticketmaster, StubHub, Barnes and Noble, bebe Stores and many others. The goal of his new book is to convey security concepts in the form of telling stories, so we hope to hear a few examples from him during the course of the interview.
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As the pioneer of the vCISO concept and original vCISO, Barak has served as CISO in dozens of organizations including Stubhub, Mulesoft, Amplitude Analytics, BetterUp, and many others, usually a few at a time. His consulting firm, EAmmune, has managed security programs for hundreds of brands globally. Barak has made numerous contributions to the field with his thought-provoking insights about security as a human discipline and business enabler. His first book, “Why CISOs Fail”, was inducted in 2021 into the Cybercannon, with a second edition set for release in March 2024. His second book, “The Security Hippie”, was released in 2022.
Barak serves on multiple security company advisory boards, is a member of the Theia Institute, a security think tank, and a board member in several non-profit organizations.