Valarie Findlay - President / Chief Scientist, TIGIR Secure; Cybersecurity Powerful Force

The CISO Diaries

VALARIE FINDLAY, President / Chief Scientist, TIGIR Secure

About Valarie Findlay:

Professionally, Valarie has over twenty years in national security, intelligence and threat analysis for US and Canadian governments.

From this experience, she developed the methodology and functionality for TIGIR to meet a growing risk assessment and compliance need in public and private sector.

Born in Ottawa, Canada, Valarie has a Masters in Terrorism Studies, a Masters in Sociology and is currently writing her doctoral thesis on terrorism as a social phenomenon. She is also a member of IALEIA, CAPIA and several other intelligence and cyber-related committees.

TIGIR’s US and Canadian patent was filed in 2015, and development proceeded on the beta and prototype, garnering positive reviews and user acceptance. The full version is about to be release in early 2022. The US patent was issued in 2020 and the Canadian patent is in examinations. A continuation has also been filed to extend and protect the IP.

Through her extensive network as a member of the Canadian Assoc. Chiefs of Police/CATA, eCrime Cyber Council, the American Society for Evidence-Based Policing (ASEBP), AFCEA Cyber Committee (Washington DC) and as a research fellow with the National Police Foundation, her software solution has received positive feedback.

LinkedIn: Valarie Findlay

Twitter: JaneVMoneypenny

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - Background and how Val got into Cybersecurity

• Started in IT during the dot-com boom and "cut my professional teeth with Nortel"
• Was quickly rolled into IT security and IT forensics
• Spent several years in Austin, TX and in Linux
• Returned to Canada
• Moved into Military and enforcement in early 2000s and "found my calling"
• Thrived in the area of National Intelligence and worked with some amazing people and recognized what she thinks is one of our biggest challenges in cybersecurity

5:18 - Entrepreneurship

• "I'm a reluctant entrepreneur"
• Most comfortable dealing with my colleagues and solving problems - there is benefit to having soft skills
• In cybersecurity, it can be a very difficult challenge to get others to understand if they don't work in that field. It's a difficult concept to market as a CEO

8:35 - Females in Cybersecurity - Struggle and Biases and Overcoming these

• We need to call it out and hold others accountable
• Have the conversations privately and these things have to be talked about and addressed
• Works in Canada - one of the most controversial organizations where we have a crisis of how our genders treat each other, and the diversity and respect
• These things have to be addressed and brought head-on. The key to it is address it and calling it out immediately - we have to have our story heard.
• "Business is business - we're all in this to make a difference, make money, and build companies - doesn't matter whether we're male or female."

11:50 - Working with Investors

• Speak the same language
• Demonstrate expert knowledge
• Always a shred of doubt when dealing with someone not from cybersecurity - you're really in a position of having to prove yourself, prove the technology and the viability of what you claim your technology does.
• Fortunate because "I have a U.S. patent."
• Canadian examinations happening now (at time of recording - December 2021)

21:10 - Public and Private Sector Collaboration & Getting People into Cybersecurity Jobs

• With all organizations she's been involved in, there are common denominators - each organization is trying to solve a problem - in my case, related to security and criminality and maintaining social values and nation prosperity
• Responsibility to people like myself when we see youth come in to our profession - people have a lot o add, but they have to be put into contact with the right people who can recognize their skills and help them materialize those skills

22:50 - Val's History - Prior to School

• Never finished high school; quit school and worked in a record school at age 14
• When she was 16, was living on her own, knew she wanted to go back to school and college, knew she was smart and wanted to do things that were purposeful
• Took a couple of years, but had to get enough under her feet to really walk the talk
• Went to Nortel and they took a huge risk on her - she was interviewed on her soft skills and her desire to succeed and how she could verbalize the vision for herself.
• Now has MBA, 2 Masters and doing a Thesis
• People now see her determination was worth something but she needed help along the way and take a chance on her

49:20 - Parting Thoughts

• People are looking for guidance in their professional life
• Stay motivated and take chances
• "Park in the fire lane every once in a while"