Thought Leadership, Mentorship and Angel Investment in Cyber
Executive Cybersecurity Professional
Father, Author, Thought Leader, Mentor, Angel Investor, Humanitarian
Who is #thecyberAli?
Having been brought up in over three continents as part of his childhood, Ali Khan, CCISO, CISM, CISSP, CDPSE, CISA also known as #thecyberAli, is an executive cybersecurity professional, father, author, thought leader, mentor, angel investor, and a humanitarian.
Ali serves the cybersecurity industry globally with his innovative approach to executing and delivering on cybersecurity initiatives. As a mentor and educator, Ali continues to work closely with educational institutions to develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and also provides mentorship, guidance and career coaching to upcoming and aspiring cyber professionals and startups. Ali also volunteers his time and efforts at not-for-profit organizations providing his subject matter expertise.
Ali has an Executive Management Certificate in Leading Organizations in Disruptive Times from INSEAD School of Business, France, an Honors Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Information Technology Management from York University, Canada and is a Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Ali also has NATO and Level II (Secret) Clearance from the Government of Canada.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is all about securing your data and your presence within the digital world. Everything that you do within the digital world today has a digital footprint that needs to be protected. Whether it is using your smartphones, working on your laptops, or interacting with today’s everyday Internet of Things (IOT)/Connected devices, cyber is everywhere!
Digital connectivity has enabled accessibility to information for the average user either through mobile phones, laptops or tablets with relative ease and has helped connect people from different parts of the world to share ideas, documents and communicate across borders with minimum friction. This coupled with digitalization of services we use everyday such as digital banking, electricity from power grids, fuel transported through pipelines and different modes of transportation such as airplanes, trains, and cars has highlighted the importance of cybersecurity in today’s society. Processes, technology and trained people need to be deployed to protect our digital world and the associated infrastructures from disruption and unauthorized access by malicious threats actors.
With the number of cyber threats increasing, everyone needs to be educated on fundamental cybersecurity concepts and best practices.
About the book
Because You Can: Your Cybersecurity Career
A simple and practical handbook with actionable insights for success
As an educator within the field of cybersecurity, having graduated over 1,000+ students and closely mentored upcoming cyber professionals, some of the most prevailing questions Ali has been asked over the years include:
- What is cybersecurity?
- How can I learn and build a general understanding of cybersecurity?
- What does a career in cybersecurity look like?
- Is cybersecurity the right field for me?
- What areas within cybersecurity should I focus on?
- How can I build a successful career in cybersecurity?
Along with his co-authors, Arlene Worsley and Gaurav Kumar, this book presents thought leadership and practical steps for aspiring cyber professionals who are growing in their careers, those considering a move into cyber and those who are curious around cyber. People who want to know about cybersecurity or pursue it as a career do not often find a guide explaining key cybersecurity concepts. This book aims to deliver authentic yet simple information to people who aspire to explore cybersecurity. The Cybersecurity field is booming with opportunities; however, not many people choose it as a career due to the lack of proper knowledge.
This book offers:
Field-tested insights to entering and thriving in a high-demand, high-impact cybersecurity career: With years of educating, hiring and coaching hundreds of cybersecurity professionals and enthusiasts, the authors provide evidence-based and actionable strategies and methods to help you build, grow and achieve a successful cybersecurity career.
A referenceable guide you can use throughout your career: The concepts shared in this book stand the test of time. Whether you are just starting your career, making a shift to cybersecurity, or just exploring to help you decide about a potential cybersecurity career, you will find timely and relevant information in this book that you can put to use immediately.
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Author's thoughts
As a thought leader, mentor, and educator within the field of cybersecurity, Ali Khan often got asked simple questions about what the field of cybersecurity looked like. Interestingly, information around these questions was not available in a concise and consolidated manner. This is where Ali decided to present simple reference materials that address these queries.
This book is for individuals who are interested to understand what cybersecurity is all about. With this book, Ali along with his co-authors, aims to provide a holistic view into the world of cybersecurity and provide actionable information around what a career in cybersecurity looks like. It is the perfect handbook for individuals who are curious about the field or entry-level individuals looking to enhance their careers in cybersecurity. Ali has always been enthusiastic about educating people about cybersecurity through his mentorship, leadership skills and the ability to bring out one’s untapped potential. In addition to mentoring upcoming and aspiring cyber professionals, with his subject matter expertise and years of experience within the field, Ali also extends his knowledge to new cyber startups and incubators.
This book is an ideal solution to deliver concise information to a large-scale audience. Ali believes that people must have access to more digestible information that can help them achieve clarity and make informed decisions.
Thought Leadership
“Leadership is translating a vision into reality by motivating each other to work towards a collective goal. Cyber leadership is the same.”
“A cybersecurity professional must think like a “bad guy” to stay ahead of the curve”
“We cannot achieve what we intend to, until we set out on the journey”
“Cybersecurity should be discussed at all levels of the organization, including the boardroom”
Mentorship
Most people attribute their success to friends, family and most importantly their mentors.
Do you have a dream of becoming a successful cybersecurity professional?
You may think having the right cybersecurity education and certifications would help achieve this dream. It may help you, however, getting the right advice and insights from an expert would unleash your true potential of becoming a cybersecurity practitioner. #thecyberAli can help you discover and validate your strengths and existing skills; both hard and soft skills and help you identify the essential trades to become a trialblaizer within the cybersecurity industry.
Angel investment
Do you have a unique, innovative cyber idea?
If you do and need the right guidance or financial resources to incubate, launch or scale, #thecyberAli is here to help by offering guidance, financial resources and the right expertise through his network of experts within the industry. Whether you have an idea or are an early stage start-up, #thecyberAli can unleash the true power of entrepreneurship within you.
Featured In
- 2021 – Global Webinar – Building a career in Cybersecurity
- 2021 – Dubai, UAE – GISEC, AI in Cybersecurity
- 2020 – Global Webinar – How to build a next generation Security Operations Center (SOC) from scratch
- 2020 – Doha, Qatar – Qatar-UK Financial Services Cyber Panel
- 2018 – Kuwait – Kuwait University, Building a successful career in Cybersecurity
- 2018 – Toronto, ON, Canada – York University – Becoming a well rounded cybersecurity professional
- 2018 – Amman, Jordan – APEX Cyber Insurance Conference, Jordan – Building your cyber defenses
- 2016 – Toronto, ON, Canada – York University – Cybersecurity, a pressing need for businesses
- 2016 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – eHealth2016, Canada – Monitoring access to Personal Health Information using an Advanced Privacy Monitoring solution
- 2015 – Washington, DC, USA – HP Protect 2015 – Advanced privacy and fraud monitoring using Technical Acceleration Programs
- 2012 – Washington, DC, USA – HP Protect 2012 – Intelligent escalation based on business context and Compliance Lifecycle using SIEM and eGRC tools.
