The CEO.digital Show Episode 3
Jon Cosson joins us for this instalment of The CEO.digital Show as we discuss his career as a cybersecurity specialist and CISO for financial organisation JM Finn, where he spearheaded a rapid, security-led response to Covid-19
When asked why he robbed banks, the American bank robber Willie Sutton famously replied: “Because that’s where the money is.” For Jon Cosson, Head of IT & CISO at JM Finn, this sums up how cyber threats have evolved from relatively harmless, experimenting hackers in the 80s to the malicious and criminal activities that plague modern day enterprises.
Over the course of his 35-year career, Jon has experienced first-hand how the world has changed following the wide-spread adoption of the internet. He’s also seen how cybersecurity has evolved to manage the challenges posed by cyber criminals who have adopted advanced technologies to bring age-old malicious activities – like fraud and blackmail – into the 21st century.
As CISO at JM Finn, Jon plays an integral role in securing the organisation both internally and externally. In this episode of The CEO.digital Show, we chat about how cybersecurity has evolved and how easy it is to be duped by social engineering tactics.
We also learn about JM Finn’s good fortune, having had the foresight to ‘war room’ a pandemic towards the end of last year. Jon shares why JM Finn’s pandemic response has been a resounding success, with the entire organisation moving almost seamlessly from just six offices to 400 (home offices). A move that was powered by JM Finn’s decision to embrace private cloud infrastructure.
Listen into the discussion now to hear all this and so much more, including: how Jon knows Kevin Mitnick; the results of a training and testing program involving a fake Facebook account; the importance of minimising confidential information leaks via LinkedIn; and how Jon taught his neighbourhood a valuable lesson in IT security…
About our Guest
Jon Cosson
Head of IT & CISO,
JM Finn
As Head of IT and CISO of JM Finn, Jon Cosson draws on more than 35 years’ experience in the IT industry to deliver secure business solutions through a grasp of broad industry trends and new technologies. He holds numerous industry-recognised cybersecurity certifications, including CISSP, CISM, C|CISO, CEH, CHFI and MBCI. He returned to academia in 2016 and obtained his Master’s in Cyber Security. Jon is currently working on his PhD, but he is also a regular speaker at global cybersecurity events.
Welcome to the CEO.digital Show, a new peer-to-peer podcast series where we’ll be talking to the most influential thought leaders about how tech is continuing to change the way the world does business.
The CEO.digital Show is brought to you by hosts Darcie Thompson-Fields and Nathan Anibaba. Each week, we’ll be interviewing major thought and industry leaders to learn how they are embracing new technologies and strategies to create new value and success for their companies. Find us on all major podcast streaming platforms.
