My interest in cybersecurity was seeded with the “love letter” computer worm that infected millions of computers in 2000, spreading through emails. People received unsuspecting emails with attachments labeled “I Love You.” Once the attachment was opened, their computers were infected, files were corrupted, and the malware used address books to self-propagate to the victim’s contacts. Since then, I have been passionate about cybersecurity. In the early days, I relied on articles, books and the guidelines that were published by anti-virus companies to learn and develop knowledge.
My association with ISACA started with this interest in cybersecurity. During my career transitions from being a solution developer to IT service management and then to information security management professional over the past 20 years, cybersecurity has been a passion, and later, it turned out to be a full-time profession. The sheer joy of working in a professional domain that was once just an interesting hobby thrills me beyond words.
ISACA provided me with a career path and continuous learning opportunity through its certification programs. Every time I had a credential from ISACA, it helped a new career opportunity materialize. The CISM certification gave me the opportunity to showcase my knowledge and expertise to the information security community and build my career in information security management. It was evident in interviews I went through during my career transitions that management preferred candidates holding ISACA certifications such as CISM and CISA. The CGEIT certification helped me in understanding IT governance for business enablement.
As I have moved through the career hierarchy, from IT operations to information security management and then to IT governance, the wealth of information and knowledge ISACA brought to me has been a tremendous asset. I can assertively state that the amount of knowledge, information, toolkits, supporting guidance that ISACA and its volunteering group provides is truly a treasure. This created a strong motivation in me to give back to the community, and I opted to volunteer for ISACA. I have been part of the CISM 15th edition Expert Reviewer Group, and that was such a memorable experience. The joy and sense of achievement rises when ISACA shares the credits and acknowledgments for its volunteers in its official publications. I am also thankful to the ISACA UAE Chapter for awarding me Information Security Professional of the Year award in 2016. ISACA volunteers and focus groups are ideal examples of “identity diversity” and “cognitive diversity” (The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy).
Outside of work, my interests include martial arts and community service. I earned my black belt in karate in 2003. It was the great Jackie Chan who sparked my interest in martial arts through his movies. Learning martial arts resulted in self-discipline and higher self-esteem. The more you advance in martial arts knowledge, the more you become humble because you realize that humans are so vulnerable. However, the right mix and application of knowledge makes mankind powerful. I also find time for volunteering and community service, and I’m an active member of local social forums that focus on uplifting people through educational activities to empower them for a brighter future.
As I consider the future, one of my major goals is to augment IT auditing practices with the capabilities and opportunities presented by Industrial Revolution 4.0, such as artificial intelligence and robotic process innovation, bringing innovation and agility into the IT auditing domain. As the future is in the hands of today’s students and young professionals, I am also working on initiatives to bring cybersecurity knowledge and awareness to them in the early stages of their academic and technical educations.
Together with ISACA, I am achieving my career ambitions, leading to a feeling of achievement and self-realization, and harnessing my potential for the betterment of my community. And the journey shall continue together.