What I Do at Unbounce

I am often asked the question at networking events, "What do you do at Unbounce?" and I never have an engaging answer. I am working on why that is (future article?) but since I am much better at writing, this is what I will try to say.

Q: "What do you do at Unbounce?"

My position is Head of Security, but that's when most people's eyes glaze over or envision me as a security guard. So let me explain it with an example. Have you ever visited a website that was selling a cool new toy, book or idea? Let's say they ask for your name and email address so you can be put on a notification list when the product is available for purchase. There is a good chance that website is hosted on our system, and your personal data you just submitted is now flowing through our servers and being stored there too.

My job is to feel the weight and importance of your data. I ensure your data is handled with care, never lost, and only transmitted to the right people. This means I verify everything from employee laptops, networks, and servers are secured and hardened to resist attack. I help to educate those around me that handle your data, in the course of doing their jobs, about the importance of protecting your data. And finally, I ensure that attacks to our systems are rare and not impactful, regardless of whether it came from a hacker, a bot, a storm that floods a data centre, or because someone tripped over a power cord and unplugged a server.

The hardest part of my job is explaining to people that we can all perform security and even talk about security without once saying the dreaded word "security". And, barring this paragraph, I did just that.