Tribe of Hackers Security Leaders

43David Rook

“I care deeply about the people I manage, and I want to see them happy, supported, and developing well, but this does take significant time.”

Twitter: @ian_InfoSec • Website: securityleadership.ninja

David Rook is the European security lead at Riot Games. He has worked in technology for 18 years and in the information security space full-time since 2006. Before moving into the computer games industry, David held various application security roles in the financial services industry. He has presented at leading information security conferences, including DEF CON and RSA.

Do you believe there is a massive shortage of career cybersecurity professionals?

I think the answer to this question is that it depends on what you're looking for. I do think we have a shortage of experienced (10+ years' experience) individual contributors and leaders but not of cybersecurity professionals. Cybersecurity is still quite a young profession, so that's to be expected and something current leaders in this space should be focused on addressing.

I feel we're currently seeing more young people than ever interested in and studying toward becoming a cybersecurity professional. What we need to see is more leaders willing to give these people a chance without ridiculous requirements and expectations in job descriptions.

I also believe most hiring managers and leaders fail to look outside ...