Tribe of Hackers Security Leaders

45Khalil Sehnaoui

“Managing hackers is hard work! But the results are worth it.”

Twitter: @ian_InfoSec • Websites: www.khalilsehnaoui.com and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Sehnaoui

Khalil is a Belgian-Lebanese information security consultant and hacker who specializes in the Middle East, and he is the founder of Krypton Security, an InfoSec firm that helps test companies' security strengths, weaknesses, and loopholes.

He is also a member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), Europe's largest association of hackers, and was featured in The Guardian's video series “The Power of Privacy” as well as on National Geographic's Breakthrough, in an episode called “Cyber-Terror.”

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

There are certainly not enough information security experts in the labor market today. This is mainly because it is still a fairly new domain and many young people don't really know what it is about or are more attracted by app development. More importantly, there are not enough structured curriculums at universities. Information security expertise is as much about having some academic knowledge as it is about experience. It should also be noted that to be really good at InfoSec, you need to have a passion for it and also what I would call the “hacker mindset”—patience and an avidity to learn. We should encourage people by making ...