Listen to Episode - 014 -Tony Wilson

Meet Tony Wilson

Embrace the Chaos: Lessons from a Veteran Security Director

In this month’s episode, host Peter Manev meets with Tony Wilson, IT Security Director at Wolters Kluwer to discuss his current projects and experience with advanced adversaries and share advice for prospective Blue Team members.

Tony kicks the episode off with his recent experience setting up and maintaining a FedRAMP environment. He highlights the challenges of FedRAMP authorization that arise from controls needed and the additional steps that must be taken for each control.

Tony also reflects on an ongoing Blue Team activity he participated in with a large retail organization and shares a fascinating example of a credential-stuffing attack, where a highly organized adversary routinely changed tactics to avoid capture.

Peter and Tony close out the episode with some advice for Blue Team hopefuls or SOC team members early in their careers: embrace the chaos, don’t shy away from the hard work, and above all stay curious.

This interview provides great insight into what young cybersecurity professionals could expect to see out in the field, and Tony provides wisdom that can only be gained through years of experience.

Biography

Tony Wilson is an IT Security Director at Wolters Kluwer. He is responsible for supporting the CISO and Divisional CIO/CTOs in developing, aligning, and implementing the global information security strategy. As one of the lead incident handlers during the infamous Target Corporation data breach of 2013 and its aftermath, he has an acute appreciation for the value of sound information security. He holds a Bachelors degree in MIS and has obtained over a dozen certifications including CISSP, CISM, and GCIH. He has also taught a cybersecurity bootcamp at the University of Minnesota and maintains mentor relationships with his former students.

Tony was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and will debate anyone over its superiority over Minneapolis. He’s closer to 50 than 30, but still enjoys to break a sweat by staying active and lifting weights. Other “hobbies” include blockchain investment, serverless architecture engineering, and cocktail experimentation.

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