CISO Council

VJ Viswanathan is a veteran global technology executive recognized and awarded for technology innovation, capability transformation and inclusive leadership. Most recently, VJ is the founding partner at CYFORIX, a global cybersecurity research, advisory & strategy firm delivering solutions to public and private sectors. He serves as the CEO at TORQE, a specialized due diligence, advisory and technology services firm delivering value through analytics and automation. VJ is also the co-host of ELEVATEINTEL, a podcast series at the nexus of technology, social and defense.

With over 25 years of Enterprise technology, Cyber Security, Privacy, Compliance and Risk Management experience, VJ has a detailed track record of designing, implementing and leading highly successful programs, products & services at multinational brands spanning CPG, Telecom, Media, Supply-chain & Finance segments.
As a strategic thought leader, VJ has delivered the first of its kind "Supply Chain Security" & “Omni-channel Risk management” frameworks. As a published author and featured keynote speaker at global industry events, he approaches disruptive digital paradigms with innovation, creativity and active collaboration with his key industry peers, national & international law enforcement and defense groups.

VJ is an active advisor, investor at select incubators & accelerators groups. As a strategic advisor to VC & PE firms, he specializes in developing market analysis, competitive product road map and guides in opportunity mapping. As a Board member and subject matter advisor to CEOs and Corporate directors, VJ evaluates and audits cyber security program for veracity and operational effectiveness.

VJ is passionate about animal rights and giving back to the technology & security industry. He has created a rescue & foster care group for large breed dogs. He is actively engaged with academic institutions and purpose driven professional groups like ‘Minorities in Cyber security’, where he serves as the Board member and chair of mentorship programs to develop the next generation talent through coaching and facilitating scholarships for cyber security education.

Jonathan is the Chief Information Security Officer for Lightspin, joining from IHS Markit a global information services where he ran Cloud & Offensive Security and created a security data graph project with his team. Jonathan has held roles at AWS, NBCUniversal, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and is a US Army veteran. Outside of work Jonathan works on his blog, open source projects, spends time with his 2 daughters and practices home cooking, research in military histories of the world, and travels around the East Coast of the US.

I am a security, technology audit, controls, governance, risk management, quality and compliance subject matter expert. With over 25 years of professional experience I am able to help companies of any size implement effective and efficient technology control management processes. I am a senior level IT Executive with extensive experience in creating and delivering technology management solutions to include data controls, transaction processing, quality, operations, network support, regulatory compliance and project management. Effective team builder and leader with a proven track record in establishing a strategic vision and gaining buy-in from all levels of the organization. I am skilled in developing customer-driven teams that contribute to successful organizational performance.

My goal is a senior level role in Security, IT Audit, Technology Management, Governance, Compliance, Risk Management, Quality Improvement or consulting.


Certification:
CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, ITIL Foundation, National Bank Examiner, Certified Quality Auditor (inactive), Six Sigma Green Belt.

Specialties: -Risk Assessment
-Offshore Management
-Application Development
-IT Strategy / ITIL
-Technology Audit
-System Integration
-Change Control / Management
-Vendor Management
-Network Management
-Information Security
-Privacy
-Compliance
-FFIEC
-Data Center operations
-Service Auditor Review - SSAE-16
-Business Continuity Planning /Disaster Recovery
-Audit Committee relations
-Project Management
-Governance
-Sarbanes
-COBIT
-Quality Programs / Testing

Ask people who know me well and I believe they would talk about my skills in managing projects and employees with an emphasis on inspiring teams, strategic planning and operations.

I hope they also would mention my experience with RFP writing and selection (Telecom, Audio Visual, Call Center, CRM) plus my work on the technology advisory committee on curriculum for Kennedy-King College, Strategic Enrollment Planning, Strategic Planning and President's Council (Senior Leadership).

My expertise also includes systems deployment and security governance.

I excel at developing and overseeing personnel who equal and beat established objectives and standards.

My background includes creating and executing processes and procedures that improve business efficiencies.

And I have a strong ability to guide tasks from initial planning to final delivery while maintaining budgets and schedules.

Cyber Defense Through Behavioral Modification ◄About PeopleSec► PeopleSec is a unique cyber vendor that specializes in behavioral change. We understand that people are the source of all cyber insecurity and that the only way to fix the problem is to secure the human element. This is why we are called PeopleSec - We are a “People-Centric CyberSecurity Firm” Our technology and methodologies are proven to stop malware by changing user behavior and are 98% more effective than our closest competitor. Let’s set up a 15-minute discussion to get to know each other better. ◄Thought Leadership► BlackHat Europe HackHalted COSAC Ireland ShowMeCon CarolinaCon HackMiami Social Engineering Rhode Island National Cyber Summit IS One World NRCLive Human Security Night (Keynote) InfoWarCon Insider Threat Summit InfoSec Con Athens, Greece SFISSA Conference BSides Huntsville RocketSecure ◄Professional Services► • Information Security Awareness Training • Incident Response Training • Full-Scope Penetration Testing • Red Teaming • Cyber Guidance • GAP Assessment • Physical Security • Social Engineering (Phishing, SMShing, Vishing, In-Person) • Internal Penetration Tests • OWASP Top 10 • Application Security Assessments • Vulnerability Analytics • Managed Vulnerability Scanning • Managed SIEM • Splunk Setup • Virtual CISO/Interim • Executive Cyber Coaching/Training • Human Risk Analytics/KPIs • GRC (Archer) • Compliance (PCI, HIPAA, SOX, CIF, etc....)

OpenLane sells over 3 million vehicles annually with value of over $40 billion through OpenLane auctions. The auctions generate approximately $2.2 billion in revenue. 100% of vehicle transactions are facilitated by OpenLane companies executed through digital channels. OpenLane customers reside in 75 countries and OpenLane employees 10,000 globally and maintains business units across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and Europe. Leon has successfully served in this key executive role reporting directly to the CFO and responsible for total ownership of all aspects of the global information technology and security programs. Additionally, he has developed and implemented global strategy across 17 business lines within this Fortune 700 company. He has extensive experience implementing outstanding security standards and regulations associated with information security and data privacy in diverse, fast-paced, and ever-changing global environments. Additionally, he has a proven track record of success maintaining a keen eye on industry trends while championing the organizational mission and vision.

Joined Health Care Service Corporation, the nation’s largest customer owned health insurer offering Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, in September of 2017 as DVP Information Security Architecture and Design. In this role, John was responsible for driving the future state Cyber Security Architecture with a focus on securely enabling HCSC’s use of the public cloud for sensitive workloads, overall modernization of HCSC’s Member facing and Enterprise Identity & Access Management products and enhancements to Cyber Defense capabilities. Promoted to Deputy CISO / Head of Information Security for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) in Fall of 2021. John is responsible for delivering a fiscally responsible and pragmatic Information Security program that securely enables the HCSC enterprise, systems development entities, and strategic initiatives. He is an Information Services Security thought leader with over twenty-five years combined experience with Fortune 500 firms in life sciences, healthcare and consumer products industries. Actively participates on Executive Customer Advisory Boards and Healthcare Industry Executive Leadership forums. John has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Temple University and holds CISSP certification.