Joe Sullivan to Share His Perspective on the Existential Challenges of Being a CISO at Cloud Security Alliance’s SECtember 2023

Former Uber CSO will draw on personal experience to help security leaders navigate crossroads of stringent regulations and corporate and personal risk

SEATTLE – Aug. 10, 2023 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today announced veteran Chief Security Officer (CSO) Joe Sullivan will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming SECtember conference (Sept. 18-22, Bellevue, Wash.), the first global event dedicated to the confluence of cloud and cybersecurity. In his talk, Lessons from the Front Lines, Sullivan will address how increasing regulatory pressures faced by CISOs and their companies are leading many C-Suite executives to question the range of challenges and complications that can arise when implementing and maintaining effective, enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategies.

“We are extremely pleased to have Joe Sullivan speak at this year’s SECtember, where he will share his unique perspective on how industry developments are shaping the evolution of cybersecurity and the role CISOs play. Joe knows firsthand the internal and external pressures that CISOs are facing when securing their companies against malicious actors, and we look forward to benefiting from his experiences,” said Jim Reavis, co-founder and CEO, Cloud Security Alliance.

“Increasingly, CISOs are under pressure to defend not only their customers and their business, but themselves. In the face of more rigorous regulatory actions, CISOs now must take personal risk into account as something to mitigate, which brings to bear the thorny issue of what proactive measures they should be taking to benefit themselves and the companies they serve,” said Joe Sullivan, CEO, Ukraine Friends. “I look forward to sharing lessons I have learned in the trenches to help today’s security leaders best prepare.”

Joe Sullivan is the CEO of Ukraine Friends, a nonprofit providing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. Sullivan has worked at the intersection of government, technology, and security since the mid-1990s. He spent eight years working for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), eventually as a federal prosecutor solely focused on technology-related crimes. While at the DOJ, he received national recognition for outstanding service as a federal prosecutor and worked on many first-of-their-kind cybercrime cases, including supporting the digital aspects of the 9/11 investigation.

In 2002, Sullivan was recruited by eBay to build out their eCrime team, and later took on responsibilities at PayPal. In 2008, he moved to Facebook, where he became CSO, building a small security organization into a team of hundreds. In 2015, Uber recruited him to become their first CSO, and after a three-year stint, he moved to Cloudflare, where he spent the next four years as their CSO. Throughout his career, he has advised a significant number of companies, including Airbnb and DoorDash, as well as numerous startups, and has served as a mentor to many security leaders.

Sullivan has twice testified as an expert before the U.S. Congress, been a commissioner on the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a board member on the National Cyber Security Alliance, a many-time opening plenary speaker at the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference, a participant in a White House anti-online-bullying effort, an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security, and in 2016, accepted an appointment from President Obama to his Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

Learn more about SECtember or register now and take advantage of early bird pricing of $599 through August 18, after which rates will increase to $850. Students and government employees pay only $250 to attend.

About Cloud Security Alliance
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, training, certification, events, and products. CSA's activities, knowledge, and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers to governments, entrepreneurs, and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which different parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.

Media Contact
Kristina Rundquist
ZAG Communications for CSA
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