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Top 20 Cybersecurity Influencers You Should Follow

Happy Cybersecurity Month! Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) have kicked off the 17th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month with this year’s theme, “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart” which advocates for Americans to focus on personal accountability and the importance of taking proactive steps to be more secure online. In fact, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021.  

Companies across the globe must be prepared and put cybersecurity as an evergreen top priority. Fortunately, there are influencers and leaders keeping watch, who offer sharp insights on the issues, ideas and trends that can help organizations along the way. Here are our top 20 cybersecurity influencers (in alphabetical order) from CSOs, to CTOs, academia and more, that you need to follow.  

John Ackerly

CEO and Co-Founder, Virtru

John has been helping millions of individuals and thousands of organizations take control of the information they store and share online. As a longtime privacy advocate, John was responsible for technology policy at the White House and was the Policy and Strategic Planning Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce. @virtruprivacy  

Sam Bisbee

CSO, Threat Stack

A thoughtful resource on the latest challenges in the cybersecurity world, Sam has a strategic vision for security roadmaps in cloud environments. He has rich experience in distributed systems in public, private, and hybrid cloud environments, as well as proven success scaling SaaS startups. @threatstack  

Dr. Bart Butler

CTO, ProtonMail

Serving as an expert on cryptography and CTO of ProtonMail, Bart keeps a constant pulse on cybersecurity and state of the art security technology to keep the internet safe. Previously, he worked at CERN as a researcher at the Large Hadron Collider and as a former experimental particle physicist. He has a PhD in Particle Physics and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. @BartCButler  

Kelvin Coleman

Executive Director, National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)

With two decades of experience in high-stakes cybersecurity posts at the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the private sector, Kevin is a seasoned and dynamic cybersecurity leader. During his career, he has conducted cybersecurity awareness tours in 49 states, briefing tech giants and has formed partnerships between the public and private sectors – developing cybersecurity policy and products. Through this, he is improving national and local cyber-threat awareness and readiness, and establishing guidelines for workforce cybersecurity safety. @KColemanNCSA  

Graham Cluley

Host, Smashing Security Podcast

An award-winning computer security keynote speaker, writer, and host of Smashing Security podcast, Graham has been fighting cybercrime since the early 1990s. He gives insightful talks on the subject around the world and has received the honor of being inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame. @gcluley  

Ryan Corey

Founder and CEO, Cybrary

Ryan is the brainchild behind Cybrary, a community where people, companies and training come together to enable collaboration in an open source way that is revolutionizing the cyber security educational experience. Be sure to check out their new report that dives into the current challenges, perceptions, and impacts of the cybersecurity skills gap faced by IT and security teams worldwide. @ryanjcorey  

Sam Curry

CSO, Cybereason

With over 25 years of IT security industry experience, Sam is an expert on providing insight on current cyber attacks. He is a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute and most recently served as CTO, CSO and GM at Arbor Networks. Sam has also held senior management roles at MicroStrategy, Computer Associates, and McAfee in addition to co-founder and first employee of two successful security startups. Sam produces Security All-In, a podcast focused on the personal stories and evolution of security people. @samjcurry  

Jim Dolce

CEO and Board Chairman, Lookout

An expert on redefining the security enterprise perimeter as mobile devices have become portals to the cloud, Jim has been the Founder of four successful technology companies. He builds on that accomplishment by helping Lookout earn and maintain world leadership in AI-based network detection and response (NDR). He has re-architected Lookout’s products, leadership, and workforce to serve large businesses and government agencies that aim to embrace the benefits of mobility without the loss of security. @Lookout  

Brian Gattoni

CTO, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Brian’s technical vision and strategic alignment of CISA data and mission enables him to manage risk to federal networks and critical infrastructure. He is an active partner in defending against today’s threat  to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future. @CISAgov  

Dan Goodin

Security Editor, Ars Technica

Dan leads the coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, and hardware hacking. With more than 15 years experience, he is well versed in writing about the exploits of white-hat, grey-hat and black-hat hackers. @dangoodin001  

Brian Honan

CEO, BH Consulting

An internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity and data protection, Brian has been in the technology space for more than 30 years. He is a recognized expert in the field of Information Security and has provided advice to government departments, various size companies, the European Commission and has had numerous articles published. His experience has him at the forefront of some of the biggest changes in the world of security, including being an Ambassador for the GDPR Awareness Coalition. In 2016 Brian was inducted into the Infosecurity Hall of Fame. @BrianHonan  

Eugene Kaspersky

Co-Founder and CEO, Kaspersky

It may come as a surprise to many that Eugene began his cybersecurity career by accident. His computer was infected with the Cascade virus in 1989 and so he created a program to remove it. Then, began a hobby of developing software to remove viruses which developed into a career. Eugene is considered one of the globe’s top cybersecurity experts and successful entrepreneurs with over 30 years of cybersecurity experience. He spearheads Kaspersky, the world’s largest privately-held vendor of endpoint protection and cybersecurity solutions, is a prominent speaker and provides lectures on cybersecurity at universities around the world. @e_kaspersky  

Brian Krebs

Independent Journalist, KrebsOnSecurity

Brian has been writing about internet security for the past two decades, and publishes a daily blog on computer security and cybercrime at KrebsOnSecurity.com. He is the author of ‘Spam Nation,’ a New York Times bestseller and is a former Washington Post reporter. @briankrebs

Nadav Mamam

Co-Founder and CTO, Deep Instinct

In addition to Nadav’s 15 years of experience in customer-driven businesses and technical leadership, he has developed an artificial neural network brain that can identify attacks in just milliseconds. Nadav has managed technical complex cyber projects, and has hands-on experience with data security, network design, and implementation of complex cyber projects. He was recruited to Israel’s top technology intelligence unit, where he led design and establishment of military data security infrastructures and platforms. As an officer, Maman received an award for his excellence in leadership and performance. @DeepInstinctSec  

Kim Nash

Deputy Editor, WSJ Pro Cybersecurity

An award winning reporter, Kim manages a team that covers technology and strategy for protecting corporate and government systems. As deputy editor of WSJ Pro Cybersecurity, she covers strategic and tactical technology security topics for a business audience and has a keen interest in board-level oversight of cybersecurity, as well as legal, governance and staffing issues. Prior to the WSJ Pro Cybersecurity, she wrote about enterprise technology for WSJ’s CIO Journal. @knash99  

Keri Pearlson

Executive Director, MIT Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS)

At MIT Sloan, Keri leads CAMS, a research group focused on the difficult questions of leadership, strategy and management of cybersecurity. She founded KP Partners, a CIO advisory services firm, was the Director of the International Institute of Analytics Leadership Consortium and the co-founder of the Concours Information Technology Leadership Development Program. Her research spans MIS, business strategy and organizational design and is the co-author of Managing and Using Information: A Strategic Approach (7th ed) and of Zero Time: Providing Instant Customer Value. Her work is published regularly and she was a recent speaker on the MIT Sloan CIO Digital Learning Series “Keeping our organizations cyber-secure in the COVID-19 environment. How secure are we?” panel. @kpearlson

Rob Scott

CEO and President, Cygilant

A 30-year technology industry veteran, Rob is an expert in cloud-based security monitoring that hunts for threats, responds to incidents, patches systems and supplies audit artifacts for compliance mandates. Previously he was CEO of Bradford Networks, a network security company acquired by Fortinet and CEO of Clique Intelligence, a software platform for data sharing and collaboration technologies. @Cygilant

Maggie Shein

Editor in Chief, Security Magazine

Enterprise security leaders can look to Maggie for the latest risk and security solutions. She provides management-focused features, opinions and trends for leaders in business, government and institutional sectors and has been writing, editing and creating content for over 15 years. Within her role, she conducts research and writes exclusive and engaging cover stories to help you stay on top of security. Be sure to check out her monthly Security Talk column. @securitymag  

Dr. Ambareen Siraj

Founder, WiCyS (Women in Cybersecurity) and Professor of Computer Science, Tennessee Tech

Ambareen’s research areas include smart grid security, sensor alert fusion with alert correlation and alert clustering, security metrics, and workforce development and has authored/co-authored roughly 40 journal and conference articles in these areas. She established WiCyS in 2012, a nonprofit that brings together women in cybersecurity to share knowledge, experience, mentoring and networking. She teaches security courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level at Tennessee Tech and is a recipient of multiple awards and honors. @WiCySorg  

Kerry Stewart

Senior Executive Service (SES) and CSO, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Kerry’s ability to identify and capitalize on individual strengths, motivate teams, and develop strategies allows him to achieve business goals that inspire future generations. He focuses on process-improvement and solution-focused outcomes and is highly experienced in security and threat management programs, investigations, and compliance inspections. @CISAgov  

Corey E. Thomas

Chairman and CEO, Rapid7

Aside from being a cybersecurity expert, Corey is a believer that the most effective leaders are the ones who aren’t afraid to learn from others while keeping humility top of mind. This enables better communication for the industry, while being sound advice to anyone to benefit from. He serves on the board of directors for Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Strategy Council, LPL Financial, as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, sitting on its audit and health care quality and affordability committees. He previously served on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Board of Advisors. @rapid7