From Hacker to CISO: Carlos De Leon's Journey and Career Advice

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Candid CISO podcast, Co-Host John Donovan interviews Carlos de Leon, CISO at the Washington State Department of Revenue. They discuss various topics related to cybersecurity leadership and strategy, including the challenges and rewards of the CISO role, the importance of compliance, and the need for strong communication and people skills. They also touch on incident response and threat management, highlighting the lessons learned from the CrowdStrike incident and a cloning incident at Carlos' agency. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the impact of technology and organizational factors on the CISO role, as well as Carlos' personal career journey. Also in this conversation, Carlos shares insights and advice on thinking creatively, his early hacker days, and career development in cybersecurity. He emphasizes the importance of an adversarial mindset and thinking outside the box to solve problems. Carlos provides advice for those looking to enter the cybersecurity field and become a CISO. The conversation concludes with a discussion on Hacker Summer Camp and the importance of networking and community in the cybersecurity industry.   Segments 00:00 - Introduction and Background 03:03 - CISO Role: Challenges and Rewards 07:02 - Compliance in the CISO Role 09:57 - Lessons from Incident Response and Threat Management 13:24 - Balancing Technology and Organizational Factors as a CISO 20:30 - Insights from a Personal Career Journey 29:19 - Thinking Creatively and Developing an Adversarial Mindset 31:34 - Career Development in Cybersecurity 35:27 - The Importance of Networking and Community in Cybersecurity Support the show