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Congratulations to security advocate Luigi Vassallo, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Sara Assicurazioni Insurance, an innovative Italian cloud-first insurance firm.
In the last two years, cybersecurity has advanced and can feel like a one-two punch to those who are not prepared. But what does that preparation look like? For Luigi Vassallo, it was more than just tackling cybersecurity defense on his own. Luigi reached out to the Cisco community, offering his knowledge and expertise to help others. This is what stood out to make him our Cybersecurity Defender of the Year in EMEA for the Cisco Global Advocate Awards 2023 EMEA event.
Cisco’s advocacy community, Cisco Insider Advocates, brings our customers together and provides a way for them to make powerful connections, expand their professional and personal networks, and learn from top experts in their field. Luigi personifies the spirit of Insider Advocates by sharing freely within the community.
One may wonder where Luigi finds the time or energy to participate in the community. Luigi finds immeasurable energy by training as a kickboxer and as an avid cyclist. This energy transforms into a philosophy of helping others. As Luigi says, it is about being “the best version of yourself.”
Luigi sums up his approach to cybersecurity this way: “Cybersecurity for me is like boxing: you never know when your opponent will attack, but you have to know in advance how to respond and what you can do.”
Luigi has been featured in a profile piece, as well as a video, where he speaks about his personal goals, as well as his goals for making Sara Assicurazioni as secure as possible with Cisco’s products. Part of his passion comes from being comfortable with the uncertainty of cybersecurity, coupled with the confidence that Cisco is there to help his organization. I’m honored that Sara Assicurazioni has joined forces with Cisco Secure to confidently define zero-trust and XDR strategies that increase security resilience and drive better customer outcomes for them.
When notified of the award, Luigi’s humility and dedication to the community was evident, as he shared, “I feel happy and surprised about this award, as I didn’t expect to win because there were so many good advocates who were nominated with me. I want to thank Cisco for awarding me the Cybersecurity Defender of the Year honor.”
Luigi also credits the Cisco Insider Advocacy program for its ability to connect and grow the cybersecurity community, adding:
“This is also what makes Cisco different from other security vendors; the capacity to recognize the innovation and resilience of its customers. I feel that we are part of the same movement, and we are together in the same fight against cybercriminals. To all other nominees, I want to say thank you for your hard work in cybersecurity and in sharing your good practices with me in the Cisco Insider Advocacy community and now at Cisco Live EMEA.”
We congratulate Luigi, not only for keeping his guard up, but for helping others to do the same by being part of the Cisco Insider Advocacy community.
The Cisco Global Advocate Awards celebrates Cisco’s passionate and innovative customer advocates who go above and beyond in demonstrating thought leadership and supporting Cisco through success stories, speaking engagements, product reviews, and so much more.
We’re planning three exclusive events that will coincide with Cisco Live conferences in Amsterdam, Las Vegas, and Melbourne in 2023. We hope you’ll join us as we recognize our customer advocates by region for actively supporting Cisco. You won’t want to miss it.
To learn more, and to become a member, please visit us here.
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When people think of cybersecurity, they think it is all about constant, in-the-moment, reactive execution. That is true in many regards, however, there is more to cybersecurity than that. There is also a strategic side; that progressive, long-term vision to anticipate the unknown, convert fear into motivation, and prepare for future threats.
As the Chief Operations Officer of Sara Assicurazioni, Luigi Vassallo has a philosophy that he lives by to keep his motivation strong. “The most important thing is not being the best one in a race, but the best version of yourself.” To put that into sharper perspective, Sara Assicurazioni is the largest insurance company in Italy with agency offices spread over 1500 points of sale.
Part of Luigi’s credo is realized through his training as a kickboxer. The challenges of getting into a boxing ring, and not knowing where the opponent may direct the next combination of blows is very similar to the uncertainties of cybersecurity. You have a choice, either to cower in fear, or to take a proactive stance, preventing the opponent from ever gaining the opportunity to attack. This requires confidence and control.
Sara Assicurazioni partnered with Cisco Secure to transform their entire security infrastructure. Luigi states, “Thanks to Cisco, when I explain where we are to our stakeholders and board members, I can reassure them that we are in control.” However, like any good athlete, he doesn’t boast too broadly, adding “you need to be extremely safe and modest.” Some of the benefits that have been realized through adopting the Cisco Secure portfolio include:
One important aspect of a good strategy, whether you are an elite athlete or not, is to see the long-term effects of each maneuver. The vision Luigi had for Sara Assicurazioni was to become a “cloud first” organization. This required careful planning, and most importantly, a firm foundation of trust that this direction was the right one for the organization and its stakeholders. “We are now a full digital company completely based on cloud infrastructure, and we have a lot of new digital services applications, and artificial intelligence.”
Another part of any good strategy is understanding the importance of having a good team working with you. An audience may see the lone boxer in the ring, but there are so many others involved with that person’s success. Luigi credits his colleagues – from the IT and SecOps teams, all the way up to senior management – with the achievements of making Sara Assicurazioni as secure as possible. Luigi also adds more power to his punch by being a Cisco Insider Advocate, which enables him to channel his energy to inspire others. He is also candidly self-aware of his part in the full security strategy. “I am not an elite athlete, but I like to win, and I like having Cisco on my team.”
To find out more about Luigi’s journey, his challenges, and triumphs, tune into his customer story here.
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We have entered a world where uncertainty has become the normal operating mode for everyone. Within this new frontier, cybersecurity has become even more challenging. However, some cybersecurity professionals have stood out, using their unique skills and resourcefulness to protect the integrity of their businesses, and to withstand unpredictable and dynamically changing threats. In the end, they, and their businesses have emerged even stronger.
These accomplishments have lead them to be selected from over more than 700 Cisco Cybersecurity Advocates – who are also members of Cisco Insider Advocates – to join the League of Cybersecurity Heroes.
Cisco Insider Advocates is a peer networking community developed several years ago for Cisco customers around the globe. Currently, over 14,000 customers are using it to share technology insights, feedback, and best practices, and also to make meaningful connections with others in the industry. We at Cisco believe that when we connect, anything is possible, and the Insider Advocacy program is a great example of the great things that can happen when people come together.
As the global CISO of Mediapro, Roberto has deployed Cisco SecureX together with Umbrella, Secure Endpoint, Secure Firewall, ISE, NGIP, Threat Response, AnyConnect, and Web security. With this partnership, Mediapro has reduced its threat detection time by 90%. In addition, they have seen no false positives in their threat detection alerts. It is rare to boast of a 100% success rate, but they can boldly make that pronouncement. All of this has also benefitted Mediapro financially by incurring zero fines for any compliance issues
What do music, cybersecurity, and teaching all have in common? They all culminate in a readiness to perform. Equally, they all require collaboration, comfort with the unexpected, and a passion for the job. Blair exemplifies the best of these traits, and in doing so, he provides inspiration and excellence to all with whom he interacts. Watching Blair at work makes one wonder if there are more hours granted to him during a day than the average person. He is a time-maximizer, spending most of that time in the service of others.
Too often, cybersecurity certifications are treated derisively by some of the very professionals who need them most. This is not the case with Kevin, who can list the many benefits of attaining certifications. Kevin’s desire to improve his knowledge doesn’t stop with technology and cybersecurity. He is an avid reader of anything that can raise him up to be better than he was the day before. With a career that started in the US Marine Corps, Kevin continues to learn and grow, all the while remaining as masterful at a computer keyboard as he is his with his traditional 55-gallon-barrel BBQ smoker and grill.
Steve is a Senior Cybersecurity and Network Architect at Lake Trust Credit Union. Like most organizations, Lake Trust has had to transition to a completely remote workforce quickly, and thanks to Secure Network Analytics, they were able to transition the employees to work remotely while maintaining the same high level of visibility and protection in place. Steve was the subject of a case study about the benefits that Cisco products have brought to Lake Trust Credit Unions’ customers. He is currently collaborating to update that information to share more of his knowledge.
Being the Head of Information Technology is never an easy job. However, when food manufacturer, Leng-d’Or, was faced with a challenge during the pandemic that could have interrupted its production line, quick thinking, skilled leadership, and a close partnership with Cisco all lead to positive outcomes, and helped them to pull through stronger than before. Part of this success comes from Enric’s distinct understanding of the threats, solutions, and processes needed to bring security to a higher level for the Leng-d’Or organization. Enric also shares his success story very freely, adding immeasurable benefits to the security community.
Cybersecurity is truly a global discipline. Tony Dous proves this by practicing his craft as a Senior Network Security Engineer in Cairo, Egypt. Tony’s involvement with the Cisco community shows how no distance is too far for a motivated cybersecurity professional.
When John Patrick is on the job, there is no longer any feeling that the criminals are one-step ahead of the good guys. He adopted Umbrella together with Meraki to develop a proactive security approach inside his organization. John Patrick created a more unified network from a patchwork of disparate entities. In doing so, he reduced the complexity within the environment. Complexity is so often responsible for security gaps, and John Patrick’s work not only corrected those gaps, but he brought people together in the process. He and his team received great feedback from the employees, who enjoyed a consistent network experience.
We often hear stories about teenagers who become enamored with technology, leading to the fulfillment of a dream. Amit Gumber became interested in cybersecurity at an early age, pursued his passion and has worked in the field ever since. His sense of advocacy is best described in his own words: “I’m quite passionate about sharing knowledge and ideas with peers and participating in collaborative activities.” Amit’s use of Cisco technologies has helped HCL Technologies to stabilize and secure their environment.
One of the most important factors for success is insatiable curiosity. Mark Healey is a continuous learner, and he is an example of someone who enthusiastically shares his knowledge. Whether it is on a personal level, or through his high engagement as part of the Cisco Insider Advocates community, or as an active member of the Internet Society, Mark is an evangelist and a positive voice for cybersecurity.
Wouter holds a special designation, not only as a member of the League of Cybersecurity Heroes, but also as the recipient of the “Cybersecurity Defender of the Year” award. Wouter is an active participant in the cybersecurity community, working with an almost evangelical zeal towards sharing the importance of holistic cybersecurity. His contributions stand out towards making the cyber realm a safer place.
It is often said that the job of a cybersecurity professional in an educational facility is especially challenging. When that facility happens to be the largest in an entire country, with over 4,000 schools and universities, the job of protecting it can seem insurmountable. At AzEduNet, in Azerbaijan, Bahruz and his team is tasked with securing the network for its 1.5 Million students. With Cisco Secure, the security team reduced security incidents by 80%. This not only ensures access for the students, but also keeps the data safe.
Many people want to enter the cybersecurity profession, but few have the dedication and perseverance to fully embrace the skillset required to meet that goal. Walther Noel not only had the desire to refocus his career, but he proved it by earning the CyberOps Associate Certification. His accomplishment is a prime example of how one can step outside of their comfort zone to grow and thrive.
Pascual demonstrates how important it is to make the most of the learning opportunities in Cisco Insiders Advocates. While already a successful NOC engineer, he sought to advance his professional development by studying cybersecurity. He passed the CCNA CyberOps 200-201 exam, moving him closer to propelling his career to even higher achievements.
One of the noblest expressions of knowledge is the desire to freely share that information. Inderdeep lives up to this ideal, offering his expertise to all with no expectations of reciprocity. His charitable spirit has not gone unnoticed, as he has been a previous award winner for Cisco IT Blogs, as well as a designation on the Feedspot top 100 Networking Blog.
Being the first to try a new technology can be a risky proposition. However, as a COO, risk calculations are in one’s blood. Luigi, along with the Sara Assicurazioni organization, hails as the first company in Italy to embrace cloud technology. As a company with more than one million customers, this was a bold initiative that required careful planning, keen insight, and above all, collaboration. In the end, this has resulted not only in a digital transformation, but a business transformation.
Whether it is a technical achievement, a personal triumph, or a spirit of helping others, each member of our League of Cybersecurity Heroes proves how technology and humanity can work together to accomplish the impossible. Congratulations to all of them!
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Companies aren’t doing business the way they used to, and the shift to hybrid work has forced many to become increasingly security resilient or cease operations. The global food market is no exception.
One of our valued customers, Leng-d’Or, was faced with a challenge during the pandemic that could have interrupted its production line, but by some quick thinking, skilled leadership and a close partnership with Cisco they were able to pull through stronger than before.
Leng-d’Or is a Spanish multinational food company, supplying upwards of 800 customers, with 80% of them outside of Spain. I’ve personally tried their snacks – they’re delicious. So you can imagine my relief when I found out we’d be able to help them overcome a significant manufacturing hurdle that could have brought my snack supply to a halt.
The pandemic had an immediate impact on the global economy, and in particular food producers who were already dealing with problems of their own. To compound matters, climate change altered the reliability and supply of raw materials such as corn and flour, so researchers needed to find new ways to update recipes and change formulas.
It had all been going fine for Leng-d’Or, who would send its scientists from Spain to its U.S. facilities several times a year to collaborate in the development of new processes. It was a great system.
And then the pandemic struck. Suddenly, food researchers could no longer get on a plane and be testing the next day. Visibility into the production line, processes and vital manufacturing machines was blocked. And, even if you could spin up a video call – who’s to say you could do it securely? Webex Expert on Demand at Leng-d’Or is connecting geographically dispersed teams with equipment to achieve improved productivity and higher first-time fix rates while reducing physical travel.
So, you see the problem. We’ll show you how Leng-d’Or partnered with Cisco for a solution.
Using Cisco SecureX cloud technology, Leng-d’Or was able to deploy an end-to-end security solution that spanned its network, cloud, email, and endpoints, keeping the company up and running as its international supply chain went remote. Then, the company implemented Webex, which enabled its team to collaborate remotely to still test out and manufacture new products in the U.S. (while looking on virtually from Spain).
Leng-d’Or tapped Webex Expert on Demand for RealWear and Cisco Meraki for smart cameras and sensors that allowed them to make real-time changes to their machines – from a different continent. From their Spanish headquarters, they were also able to collaborate with their U.S. counterparts in real- time through the Webex app, exchanging drawings and formulas securely. Cisco technologies are helping Leng-d’Or close the knowledge gap by connecting workers from the factory floor to experts at other locations while allowing them to keep their hands free to work instead of holding a smartphone or tablet.
They could have let pandemic cybersecurity issues disrupt their workforce, but they didn’t. They could have let global travel restrictions slow their scale, but they didn’t. Instead, they employed Cisco solutions that allowed them to not only detect threats up to 90% faster, but also develop products collaboratively in a completely remote environment, continuing New Product Introduction (NPI). The company also noted that, “The cost reduction in travel and time as well as the increase in productivity associated with the project was remarkable.”
We’ll share with you just how they did it by letting them tell the story. Here is our interview with Cisco cybersecurity advocate, Enric Cuixeres, head of information technology at Leng-d’Or. He lends his expertise as a valuable member of our Cisco global customer initiative, Cisco Insider Advocacy.
Outside of business continuity, what would you say the outcome is of using Meraki, RealWear and Webex for Leng-d’Or?
Enric: In addition to traditional video collaboration, we were facing the need to integrate live images as well as very specific views of our machines. To do this, we decided to integrate the video stream of the Meraki MV smart cameras and Webex Expert on Demand in RealWear in a private Cisco Webex room. Thanks to this action, we were able to have a complete global picture of the whole process in real-time.
In addition, we could have eyes on the front line, which showed us very specific images of what we needed. The synchronization of the audio allowed us to have a conversation in real-time with our team in the first line of work. Thanks to this collaboration strategy, it is possible to develop products collaboratively completely remotely.
The cost reduction in travel and time as well as the increase in productivity associated with the project was remarkable. In any case, and since we were in the middle of a pandemic, without this technology we would not have been able to develop these kinds of products.
How does Cisco Secure help you stay competitive and continue the normal flow of work?
Enric: Thanks to Cisco Secure we can now detect a security breach in real-time. Every day, between five and seven inbound emails with malicious URLs were blocked at our perimeter thanks to Cisco Secure Email and Secure Email Phishing Defense.
If the threat comes from a traditional URL or compromised business link, the integration of Cisco SecureX with Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Secure Firewall and Cisco Secure Endpoint gives us real-time visibility into the problem.
Also, thanks to the automation and detection capabilities from Secure Endpoint’s Orbital Advanced Search, we can be proactive in our cybersecurity tasks. Preventing a high-level incident in a big company is an incredibly valuable way to reduce costs.
What are some of the benefits that you have gained from using the Cisco platform?
Enric: Leng-d’Or reduced the time to detect threats by 90% thanks to the single pane of glass provided by Cisco SecureX. During a one-week period, there were between 2-5 confirmed threats blocked.
Along with that between 4-6 malicious URLs from inbound email were blocked, and 2-4 malicious URLs from the Cisco Umbrella virtual appliance or roaming client were blocked during the same period with Cisco SecureX.
The point here is that without Cisco technology, during the pandemic our work would have come to a complete stop. Developing a new product is a team job. A lot of people from different areas must come together, so Cisco SecureX allowed us to collaborate across borders during COVID and know that we were doing so securely. Thanks to that, our business continued, uninterrupted.
The Leng-d’Or and Cisco partnership
To recap, here’s how Leng-d’Or was able to improve their security architecture to become more resilient:
Leng-d’Or is the story of a great company that used a challenge to come out on top, instead of lagging behind in a time of crisis. They were able to turn adversities into assets as they took the opportunity to reinvent themselves through new, adaptable processes and secure Cisco technologies that allowed them to find new ways of doing business better.
Using Cisco SecureX, Leng-d’Or was able to secure their intellectual property, enable hybrid work with Cisco’s Webex Expert on Demand, and secure their cloud and edge technologies to transform their infrastructure — and their business.
You can find out more about the Leng-d’Or success story here: https://www.webex.com/customers/leng-dor.html
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