A Day in the Life of a Head of Cybersecurity and Engineering at Commercial Insurance Company
Malia's role as Head of Cybersecurity & Engineering involves a dynamic mix of proactive threat anticipation, driven by daily monitoring of "cybersecurity and geopolitical news," and reactive incident response, exemplified by the need to "be on call" due to the nature of cybersecurity threats. The constant interruptions and need for strong project management skills highlight the demanding yet exciting aspects of this career.
Cybersecurity, Geopolitics, Project Management, Problem-Solving, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Malia Mason
Head of Cybersecurity & Engineering
Commercial Insurance Company
University of Pittsburgh class of 2011
EMBA UCLA class of 2023
International Relations & Affairs
Insurance
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Disabled, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Veteran, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Malia starts her day by checking cybersecurity and geopolitical news to stay informed about emerging threats and understand the global context of cyberattacks. This highlights the importance of staying current on global events and their potential impact on cybersecurity.
2. She emphasizes the importance of strong project management skills due to the many interruptions and competing priorities inherent in the role. This is relevant for students interested in learning how to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines effectively in a fast-paced environment.
3. Malia mentions that she is often "on-call" and may need to work evenings or weekends to respond to urgent cybersecurity incidents. This underscores the demanding nature of the job and the need for dedication and a willingness to handle urgent issues outside of typical working hours.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of your role look like?
It changes every day. Typically, I wake up and check the latest cybersecurity and geopolitical news. There's almost always a new threat, incident, landscape, or breach I need to be aware of, along with geopolitical situations.
We look at things like the war in Ukraine or which world leader is angry with another. We can usually predict that a cyberattack will follow, so we have to be aware of geopolitical news and situations in the context of cybersecurity. This allows us to put defenses and protections in place to anticipate any attacks.
After I've done that, I check Slack for urgent messages or alerts and see if any of my tools have alerted me. I'll then check my meeting schedule for the day and my calendar.
Next, I review my projects, checking for any requests, reviews needed, or updates on projects in progress. I also see if any tickets have come in that require my attention.
Often, this is how my day starts, but I might be interrupted to investigate something or respond to an alert from a tool. This requires me to divert my focus and then return to my original tasks.
There are many interruptions, which makes the job exciting. It also means we have to be good at managing distractions and staying on track with projects. Developing strong project management skills becomes essential as your career progresses.
My day doesn't always end cleanly. I might have to work in the evening if I'm continuing an investigation. As Head of Security, if an issue occurs on the weekend, I need to respond, assess the situation, and determine if immediate action is needed or who needs to be involved.
These critical situations don't happen all the time, but I have to be aware and on call. Cybersecurity never sleeps, so I need to be ready to handle whatever comes up. That's generally a typical day, and it changes almost every day, so I never get bored.