Tribe of Hackers

25Justin Elze

“People who have impressed me the most during the hiring process always highlight personal projects or their involvement in the community, even if it’s not purely technical.”

Twitter: @HackingLZ

Justin Elze is the red team lead at TrustedSec. He has more than 10 years of experience in the information technology industry, specializing in enterprise penetration testing, network security, social engineering, and red teaming. Prior to joining TrustedSec, Justin was a senior penetration tester for AccuvantLabs, Dell SecureWorks, and Redspin—where he led numerous red team engagements and penetration tests. Justin has worked in various industries, including at internet service providers, hosting, DoD contracting, and services consulting companies.

If there is one myth that you could debunk in cybersecurity, what would it be?

I would say that the biggest myth about cybersecurity is that spending more money makes you more secure. Many companies are willing to spend their money on expensive products when they should focus their efforts on hiring educated and talented employees. Having a network that is properly engineered and run by knowledgeable employees has more value than purchasing products and then failing to use them properly to maximize their potential.

What is one of the biggest bang-for-the-buck actions that an organization can take to improve its cybersecurity ...