A Day in the Life of a CISO: Ahmad Douglas, Chief Information Security Officer, CommScope

During his first few weeks as the new CISO at US-based network equipment manufacturer, CommScope, Ahmad Douglas faced a ransomware attack.

Criminals from the ransomware gang, Vice Society, allegedly stole and published thousands of employees’ social security numbers and bank account details. It was a significant attack on an organisation that employs 30,000 people.

A few weeks before the attack, Douglas had met with CommScope’s cyber insurers for an annual policy renewal. The insurer’s report detailed cyber work that needed to be prioritised. He met with team leaders to discuss opportunities to enhance the organisation’s cyber controls.

One Sunday, after returning home from a walk, Douglas found around 75 text messages on his phone, sounding the alarm about a ransomware attack. Execs were texting each other because they could no longer use Microsoft Teams.

Douglas had been a business information security officer for 10 years, and this…