For someone who’s worked in public and private organizations, Mark Weatherford said the biggest difference between the two is expectations — one is driven by shareholders and the other is driven by policy and taxpayers.
But where does he see overlap? “We’ve seen an evolution in both public and private sector where chief security officers or chief information security officers are more and more getting invited to participate in the business of the business, if you will,” said Weatherford, chief information security officer for AlertEnterprise.
He said it’s very organization- and person-dependent, but “there’s a lot more opportunity for us today to be a part of the executive team.”
In episode 22 of the CISO Stories podcast, Weatherford discussed focusing on relationships across government levels to increase security spending, knowledge and activities with Todd Fitzgerald, vice president of cybersecurity strategy at Cybersecurity Collaborative.
Listen now to episode 22 of CISO Stories: Want to Elevate Cybersecurity? Relationships Matter!
"Having those relationships and knowing where to find resources — knowing where to ask for resources — you can't get any better than that," he said.
In addition to AlertEnterprise, Weatherford is chief strategy officer and board member of the National Cybersecurity Center, and the founding partner at Aspen Chartered Consulting. He’s also held cybersecurity roles with Brookings Holdings, vArmour, The Chertoff Group, as well as public-sector roles for Colorado, California and the Obama administration.
