5 Questions with...Massimiliano Garruzzo

A security defense evangelist and certified ethical hacker for more than 25 years, Massimiliano Garruzzo is the Chief Executive Officer at ISCS, a cybersecurity/IT consultancy in Turin and Milan, Italy, and the President of CyberCare. Throughout his career he has helped organizations and government agencies throughout the world with mission critical physical and digital security engagements. He holds a PhD in Cybersecurity, is ISACA certified, is an Offensive Security Certified Professional and owns two technology patents.?

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What are your passions in life??

To serve and protect – this is what I’ve been doing for 30 years all over the world. My drive is cybersecurity, physical and logical security. Being an evangelist is so important. To increase knowledge holistically, being aware is needed to get ahead of threats.??

Personally, it is working out. It is “mens sana in corpore sano” (healthy mind in a healthy body) but in reverse. With a healthy body and mind you can do everything better...for your work, family, friends, etc...?

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What was the moment that you knew cybersecurity was your passion??

I originally studied Information technology but then during my time at the University of Turin, I transitioned to cybersecurity and became a sponge absorbing all the different academic angles. This led to me pursuing my PhD specializing in penetrating all kinds of systems. During that time, I was approached by one of the famous Special Forces to assist them in various engagements where I witnessed firsthand the impacts of cyber threats. It was not just about money, but it was about freedom. I saw the “dark” and I chose to stay in the “light” and became an Ethical Hacker. I learned about the “worst case scenarios” as well as how to put in place an anticipation/resolution plan.?

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As an ethical hacker what was your most interesting project (that is not confidential)??

What I can share was a time when I was working with a Special Forces team in charge of a field mission to stop one hostile base in a dangerous environment. I was the on-site technical guy on the team. We had very little time to identify and stop the specific threat. But I was able to physically connect to the network and ultimately, was able to stop the threat. Not as dramatic but also important, I now work with insurance companies, banks and IT enterprises all over the world to identify and eliminate cyber threats.??

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What do you see as the risks and opportunities related to cybersecurity??

The opportunity is huge because technology is moving faster than ever and faster than the law. The advancements of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have allowed bad actors to accelerate the use of even more aggressive hacking tools. AI provides a safer haven for the bad actors. Governments must act against these nefarious game-changers. Additionally, wars between countries are no longer being overseen by the traditional laws of engagement. Physical wars (as you see in the news) are just to create fear among the populous, but the real wars are “underground”, it’s the “cyber wars”. They are the greater threats globally and are getting bigger by the second. We need something different, a game-changer on the defensive side to go directly against the bad actors. I believe Invisinet is one of those game changers.?

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How is Invisinet one of those game-changers??

With Invisinet it is impossible to attack what cannot be found. Invisinet’s software makes it impossible to find anything that exists behind a public or private IP, networks, OT devices, etc., to scrape any information to create vectors of attack. This innovative and proactive approach is what I evangelize in my meetings with CISOs, CEOs, IT managers, helping them understand the current risks and gaps in their systems. I demonstrate a penetration test to expose the risks and then the remediation with Invisinet. A total game-changer. This is another reason why I am honored to serve on the Advisory Board at Invisinet. With my experience I hope to bring a real-world point of view and help Invisinet find the best way to approach the market and make the greatest impact to serve and protect.?