Hi-5 With A Security Expert

Ori Russ, eToro

CybeReady’s Hi-5 brings together InfoSec leaders for peer-to-peer sharing via five short questions and insights.

Ori Russ has been working in the security sector for over 30 years. He worked for over 25 years in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and in the last 8 years, he has specialized in the field of information security, with an emphasis on physical cybersecurity.

What is the biggest challenge security leaders face today and how are you looking to tackle it?

The main difficulty has always been to prove the need for a secure investment in security. As security is preventative, it does not generate profits for the company so this can be a hard sell.

In your view, how important are security awareness programs, and what’s a CISO’s main role in making them effective?

Security awareness is a Sisyphean job that is never enough. But it has to be there all the time working on people subconsciously. Just like Coca-Cola for example spends millions on advertising even though everyone knows the drink.

What’s the one thing you’ll never tell an employee who’s made a security error, and how would you suggest handling the situation instead?

I will never embarrass them in front of others and even if they make a mistake, I won’t mention their name publicly. But I will always be direct and tell them in private and unequivocally everything that they need to hear about the mistake they made.

When it comes to recruitment – what approach do you take to attract and keep the best talent, and what would be your best tip for a new hire?

For recruitment, I seek recommendations from people I can trust. I would tell a new hire to always refer to and present what you do as the most important thing for the company.

Finally (just for fun): if you could have dinner with any renowned figure (dead or alive), who would you choose and why?

Charlie Chaplin – that would teach me how to explain so much with so little.

eToro is a social trading and multi-asset brokerage company that offers both investing in stocks and digital assets, as well as trading CFDs. Founded in 2007 with a mission to open the world’s markets to everyone -everywhere, today eToro has a global community of over 20 million users who exchange investment strategies, connect and share thoughts about the market, across eToro’s social feed.