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How one of the world’s largest companies approaches cybersecurity is seeing a major shift, and with that change is coming hiring in the C-suite.
In Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative (SFI) progress report in September, the tech behemoth announced an overhaul in how it will manage its cybersecurity going forward, prioritizing protection and including it in performance reviews.
The company is “dedicating the equivalent of 34,000 full-time engineers” to the SFI, the report said, and brought on 13 deputy CISOs to handle the shift in priorities.
“As global CISO, I am responsible for the overall cyber defense of Microsoft, our products, business operations, and partnering with engineering teams to make progress against SFI objectives,” Microsoft global CISO Igor Tsyganskiy said in a LinkedIn post announcing the new positions. “To scale my ability to do so, I have established the Cybersecurity Governance Council and developed a set of new roles instrumental for security: deputy CISOs.”
Of the new CISOs, four are new staff while nine have had their duties adjusted. Here are three of the new hires.
Former ID.me CISO Damon Becknel is the new VP and deputy CISO for regulated industries at Microsoft
Becknel is coming off nearly a decade in private sector C-suite tech positions following a 17-year US Army career. Most recently, he was CISO at ID.me; prior to that he served as VP and CISO at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. According to Microsoft, in a comment provided to GeekWire, Becknel will work with “Microsoft’s solutions for regulated industries, including healthcare and financial services and our legal department, CELA.”
Microsoft’s deputy CISO for core and mergers & acquisitions is Geoff Belknap
Most recently the CISO at LinkedIn for five years, Belknap has also worked as CSO at Slack for three years and as CISO at Palantir for over five years.
For gaming, Shawn Bowen takes a central role
A decades-long cybersecurity hand with experience in both the public and private sectors, Shawn Bowen will be the new deputy CISO for Microsoft’s gaming division. Bowen was most recently CISO of energy firm World Kinect. His experience includes over 24 years in the Air Force Reserve and was CISO for the US Marine Corps for nearly five years and chief of cybersecurity integration at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for over three years.