Introduction to Andreas Gaetje
Korber AG is a diverse German technology and manufacturing organization with around 13,000 employees in 100 locations worldwide. Andreas Gaetje, the CISO at Korber AG, began his career in economics and business politics, but his journey took a turn when he entered the computer business in the mid-1990s.
The Route to CISO
Gaetje never planned to make a career in cybersecurity, but the reality of life reshaped his expectations. He needed a job that could combine his interest in economics and business with information technology. This led him to join a consulting firm, and later, he decided to focus on the finance industry, where IT was crucial.
He started as an auditor, learning about the business and figuring out how IT and business could work together. At that time, cybersecurity hadn't become the major occupation it is today, but Gaetje's knowledge of business, IT, and audit put him in a good position when cybersecurity began to emerge.
Becoming a Leader in Cybersecurity
Andreas Gaetje's career path proves that one can be a security leader without being a 'deep bit-crawler,' provided they have a deep understanding of business and the function of IT and security. He received good career advice, including the importance of not staying too long in a single company or industry sector to avoid getting stuck in a rut.
Leadership skills go beyond pure subject knowledge, and Gaetje believes that a leader is someone who provides direction to others or a vision of what and how something can be achieved. He learned and enhanced his leadership skills through training courses and believes that becoming a leader is something most people can achieve with the right intent, personality, and training.
The Leader's Team
Leaders typically emerge from within a team as their careers progress, but building a team as a C-level leader is not simple, especially with the 'skills gap' in cybersecurity estimated to be between 2.8 million and 4.8 million. Gaetje looks for people who want to learn, are engaged, and can think out of the box.
He believes that enthusiasm to learn is necessary, and while experience is good, it's not the only factor. He would employ a 'white hat' hacker but not someone with a history of malicious activity. Gaetje advises ambitious team members to be curious and notes that things are changing rapidly in cybersecurity.
Biggest Concerns Today
Andreas Gaetje's primary concern is the speed of new technology development, particularly with AI, which is used by both attackers and defenders. He believes that the role of the CISO will become even more important in the future, but it may change as AI grows throughout the business, creating problems too widespread for the security team to handle alone.
Gaetje doesn't believe that AI will reduce the need for cybersecurity professionals but notes that it may affect skill levels, potentially causing people to lose the ability to perform certain tasks without AI assistance. However, he is confident that the security team will adapt to new processes, and guiding this process will be another requirement for the CISO.
Source: SecurityWeek