On the lighter side of things, we Go Phishing with Dan Bridges, Technical Director – International, Cyware, to discuss what makes him tick.
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the cybersecurity industry?
In general terms, my most memorable achievements have come from helping bring innovative new companies to market whilst building great teams and thoroughly enjoying the process of doing so. An example is working at HP across different cultures, where it was important to bring people together and to ensure we all had a really positive experience of working together.
What first made you think of a career in cybersecurity?
I fell into the career by accident. Having been a windsurfing instructor for six years, I needed to find a new job and happened to talk to someone I was teaching, who then offered me a role. A couple of months later, I was installing firewalls for a vendor, and things progressed quite rapidly from there.
What style of management philosophy do you employ in your current position?
I work hard to help everyone be the best versions of themselves, then the work will take care of itself because smart empowered people will work it out.
What do you think is the current hot cybersecurity talking point?
A big topic is the need to be very data-driven, with a focus needed on individual pieces of data. What we need to do is tie it together with techniques and tactics, defend against those, then update the technical data behind it automatically.
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office?
I like to play golf and I also coach kids’ football – golf is more stressful, and coaching is rewarding and wholesome.
If you could go back and change one career decision what would it be?
I don’t feel like I made specific decisions about my career, I’ve been really lucky, great opportunities have presented themselves at the right time, so there isn’t really anything I could change. I would perhaps tell myself at the beginning of my career to be more relaxed and take two seconds to think before answering.
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in the cybersecurity industry?
The first is collaboration. Helping your industry peers and business partners with information. We see the uptake of the ISAC Community more prevalently now, not just in a few headline industries and the US, the realisation of their value is spreading.
Collective defence is a huge trend that many organisations are focusing on. It’s fascinating and really positive to see examples in very competitive industries being happy to share data with their competitors for the greater good. It seems unlikely, but they do, and it’s increasingly common in all industries.
Are there any differences in the way cybersecurity challenges need to be tackled in the different regions?
Yes and no. We all tend to use a lot of the same technology, so some of the challenges are similar. In contrast, however, cultural and geopolitical differences and threats, the landscape and risk across those similar tool sets differ. That translates into tailored approaches on a foundation of best practices depending on the circumstances.
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months?
We’re starting to see less interest in traditional SOAR technology as organisations move to more specialist functional response and automation. In addition, collaboration is becoming incredibly important as security teams shift from reactive to proactive strategies.
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to work in cybersecurity?
Firstly, I would recommend that they should understand how IT technologies work with each other. This is a great foundation for building knowledge and expertise about how systems can be broken, disrupted or interfered with.
There are a lot of resources out there, but gathering some courses and content from organisations such as the National Cyber Security Centre is a good starting point – they offer a lot of very insightful and accessible background on various industries and their needs.
On a more general level, there is a lot to be said for finding someone you like working with and sticking with them. This goes back to my belief that being happy at work and having fun are really important elements of a fulfilling career.
Do you have any predictions for the new year? Any new trends or technologies shaping the market in 2025?
As we head into 2025, we will continue to face an increasingly sophisticated cyberthreat landscape.
We must all rethink our cybersecurity strategies, gaining better visibility across the entire asset portfolio to detect potential threats before they escalate.
With the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) coming into effect in January 2025, businesses will be required to bolster their cyber-resilience to withstand and recover from cyberincidents. DORA mandates more stringent monitoring and reporting of cyber-risks, putting added pressure on organisations to improve their threat detection and response capabilities.
A key solution will be the adoption of Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs). These platforms enable organisations to integrate and analyse threat data from multiple sources in real time, helping security teams to identify and act on emerging threats faster and move to a proactive security model. TIPs also support participation in industry-wide threat intelligence sharing, such as through ISAC communities, enhancing collective resilience across the sector.
As alert fatigue grows and the complexity of cyberattacks increases, TIPs and Collaboration tools will be critical for streamlining threat management, automating responses and improving decision-making. By embracing these technologies, businesses can not only enhance their ability to combat evolving cyberthreats but also ensure compliance with DORA, strengthening both their defences, business resiliency and their position in a highly regulated environment.
