David Gerry serves as Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Operations at NTT Application Security. Read below to find out more about the company and his role in it.
What does NTT application security do?
Formerly WhiteHat Security, NTT Application Security is an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary of NTT Ltd. and is part of NTT’s security services portfolio. On a broad level, we are an industry leader in securing the applications that run today’s businesses and we empower development and operations teams to deliver better performing and more secure applications. Our world is becoming increasingly application-dependent, and the cyber threat landscape is constantly transforming. Our organization provides a cloud-based application security platform and a world-class research team to help security teams quickly identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities.
What is your role in the company and what advice would you give to someone looking to follow a similar path?
I serve as Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Global Operations, where I oversee strategic planning and execution for global revenue growth, service delivery, and customer-facing operations.
I’ve spent a decade within the Application Security market, a market that is fast-changing and constantly seeking new and innovative solutions. One piece of advice I’d give to those looking to step into the business and operations side of cybersecurity is to always think ahead. This industry is moving fast, meaning that we’re frequently driven by quarterly targets to reach short-term expectations. In every situation, always think about the long-term goals and the long-term impacts a decision or activity will have. I would also advise those who are a little farther along in their career to prioritize building and nurturing a quality team wherever you are. If you’re at the table when hiring decisions are being made, you can have a profound impact in intentionally hiring the right people who will take your organization to the next level. For those who aren’t involved in hiring decisions but are still managing teams, you can have an impact on the teams you lead by making sure everyone has the resources needed to succeed. Prioritize the people and teams around you and success will inevitably follow.
What makes you stand out from other similar companies?
NTT Application Security’s approach is unique compared to other application security testing providers in that we offer unlimited access to our team of web security experts. As a user of our solutions, NTT Application Security engineers provide customers with step-by-step guidance, offering dynamic, personalized advice in real-time to an organization’s security team. This addition of human intelligence is what sets us apart and brings more power to our award-winning solutions. Another competitive edge we have in the market is by providing accuracy of results through vulnerability verification. A combination of human intelligence, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are baked into our platform, meaning that there are near-zero false positives. This eases a huge burden and pain point among security teams, who are now freed to attend to fixing vulnerabilities rather than verifying each one. Our team helps organizations meet the goal of rapid innovation and reliable service delivery.
What industries and businesses do you support?
NTT Application Security provides cybersecurity solutions to a wide array of industries and customer segments. Typically, those in highly regulated industries and companies with a lot of digital content, personally identifiable information (PII), or payment information fit into the ideal customer profile that we look for. In fact, we currently partner with five of the top 10 US Health Insurers, three out of the top four Credit Card Providers, and one of the largest digital streaming platforms to assist them all in securing their customer’s data, payments, and entertainment experiences.
On a more personal level, as an advisor and investor within early-stage startups, I’m passionate about devoting my time and resources into startups that are solving tough problems in the tech industry. As an advisor, I share the insight I’ve gleaned over the years with early-stage startups that are looking to make that next big step and grow into their target market.
What are the top security breaches that you have seen in 2021?
It’s hard to pin down the exact extent of harm that anyone cyber security incident causes and cybercriminals are continually upping the ante on their sophistication and tactics. However, attacks on our critical infrastructure have proven to be the most destructive, as they have the potential of impacting everyday consumers’ lives. The Colonial Pipeline attack, which took place in May, forced the organization to halt pipeline operations to attend to the attack, resulting in fuel shortages in specific areas on the East Coast. The Colonial Pipeline breach illustrates the unbalanced investment in digitization and digital security within industries that have been traditionally slow in adopting these technologies.