The 10 Most Eminent Women Leaders in Security October 2021

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Emily Mossburg Connecting the Dots of Cybersecurity

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she says. “How could I continue to connect with my team—and build relationships with other members of our organization—without actually meeting with them face-toface?”

n a world where digital transformation is rapidly evolving, the pandemic caused a rapid shift to remote work that has further accelerated transformation initiatives. While managing remote working arrangements has always been a challenge for cyber professionals, today, cyber teams must manage the increased vulnerabilities that have accompanied a surge in home-office set-ups, related to where and how remote workers are accessing corporate environments. Additionally, because countless organizations across the world are entering this uncharted terrain at the same time, today’s increasingly-sophisticated cyber criminals are on high alert—and ready to attack at unprecedented levels.

Ultimately, Deloitte, like a lot of its clients, began to integrate video conferences and webinars into its daily business practices. As a result, it required the company to re-evaluate it own cyber strategies. Navigating Unique Times In the early days of the pandemic, as Deloitte focused on finding ways to mobilize its newly-remote workforce and remain agile in the face of change, Emily and her team were responsible for viewing each business decision through a cyber lens.

Fortunately, cyber leaders like Emily Mossburg are here to help organizations prepare and defend themselves in this tumultuous moment in history. Her keen understanding of the cyber landscape, cultivated over years of developing and delivering leading-edge solutions as the Global Cyber Leader at Deloitte, allows her to help both her firm and her clients meet today’s evolving cyber needs.

Over the years, she’s learned that if there’s one thing cyber criminals love, it’s rapid organizational change—because when people are distracted, vulnerabilities tend to arise in greater numbers, and are typically much easier to exploit. “Understanding this, we made sure that before we executed any business change, there was an accompanying cyber solution or program in place to minimize any additional risk.”

A Challenged-Filled Journey Throughout her 18 years in Deloitte’s cyber practice, Emily has seen a lot, but the last couple years have unquestionably been the most fascinating.

Implementing Cyber Expertise “I’ve helped many clients tackle a wide range of cyber challenges over the years, but the pandemic was completely unique. Never before have we seen a mass shift to remote work—it was amazing to see,” she says.

For Emily, building these types of transformative cyber programs isn’t anything new—after all, she established some of the first cyber strategies 25 years ago working at a security startup. She’s also guided many global teams through implementations, and developed innovative technical solutions to thwart ever-evolving threats.

As Emily helped her clients work through the transition, Deloitte was also maneuvering through the changes in real time for their own operations. Both experiences offered Emily invaluable insights.

In essence, the cyber challenges resulting from the pandemic weren’t much different. To respond quickly and effectively to shifting cyber threats, she relied

“Not being able to meet with my colleagues in person really forced me to explore the act of inter-office communication,” www.ciolook.com

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| October2021 |


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