EP 20 — Naomi Buckwalter: Closing the Demand Gap in Cybersecurity and Building Diverse Teams

In this episode, Harshil is joined by Naomi Buckwalter, Director of Product Security at Contrast Security. Contrast Security is an application security platform that helps developers and security teams write secure code and protects business applications against targeted cybersecurity attacks. The Contrast platform is able to effectively identify actual vulnerabilities from false positives, resulting in faster remediation.

With more than two decades of experience in IT and Security, Naomi shares some tips on how to run a product security program, how to build a diverse team, and how to refine the hiring process to empower managers to choose the right candidates.

Topics discussed:

• How Naomi came to lead the product security team at Contrast Security
• The story behind Cybersecurity Gatebreakers, Naomi’s nonprofit foundation advocating for and supporting the next generation of cybersecurity professionals
• The supposed talent shortage in cybersecurity,  and the challenges in finding and hiring the right talent
• How to choose the right questions during an interview and what to prioritize during the hiring process
• Naomi’s LinkedIn course that’s providing valuable educational content on how to be better security leaders
• Naomi’s book recommendation for cybersecurity leaders
• How to come up with a reprioritizing plan to counter the effects of a workforce reduction