In this episode of Future of Security Operations, Thomas speaks with Ryan Noon, Founder and CEO of Material Security, a company that protects the email of high-risk VIPs and top global organizations.

A serial entrepreneur and an expert on cloud security, Ryan previously ran infrastructure teams at Dropbox after it acquired his last company, Parastructure. Before that, he helped build a company spun out of Stanford by the Department of Defense. A graduate of Stanford, Ryan holds degrees in Computer Science and Computer Security.

Topics include:

Ryan’s first startup experience and the decision to launch his first company, Parastructure
Getting acquired by Dropbox and what he enjoyed most about working there
Ryan’s journey from a hobbyist to a thought leader and founder in cybersecurity, taking a critical eye towards every system, and why Ryan sees himself as “a builder, a creator, and an optimist than a true security engineer”
How the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election impacted his perspective on cybersecurity and helped him realize the power of APIs
Why email is such an excellent target for cyber attackers and how Material Security secures data within inboxes
What founders should focus on in the first year, the importance of product management, and how Material secured its early adopters, including customers like Stripe, Databricks, and Lift, so quickly
How to help your product to stand out, and why he believes it’s important to avoid FUD tactics in cybersecurity
What Ryan has learned from working with the world’s leading security teams and how the best teams bridge gaps to win
Ryan’s thoughts on the uncertain global economic climate, its impacts, and how Material’s conservative approach has allowed them to maintain a relatively lean team
The future of security operations and what trends Ryan believes will continue - doing more with less and leveraging better infrastructure and tools that enable you to go deeper with your existing tech stack

Resources:

LinkedIn

EP287 | Reflecting on 2023 (w/ Mike Pecci)