Podcasts Technology IT Visionaries How Retired Army Major General John Davis Helped Stop a Cyberattack on America

How Retired Army Major General John Davis Helped Stop a Cyberattack on America

Published: Oct. 9, 2019, 7 a.m.

Most people in technology agree that cyberthreats will be one of the biggest dangers we face in the coming years. In our increasingly-connected world, we’re more vulnerable than ever before and the threat of one bad actor taking out an entire power grid or critical network system is real. Retired Army Major General John Davis knows this better than most. While leading a task force responsible for directing the operations and defense of the DOD networks, the U.S. was hit with a cyberattack that infected a number of critical networks. John had to lead the charge against the malicious code, and he believes the event was a key factor in the creation of U.S. Cyber Command, which John served as a director of. 

Today, John is the Chief Security officer for the Federal Sector of Palo Alto Networks, and he spends his time telling the story of that attack to illustrate the need for enhanced cybersecurity everywhere. On this episode of IT Visionaries, John discusses how he dealt with the attack, the ways cybersecurity has changed, and why the way forward is with a prevention mindset. 

Key Takeaways:

  • The security landscape today
  •  Building transparency and clarity
  • John’s first-hand experience stopping cyber attacks against America
  • Advice on how to improve your security

Salesforce and MIT recently teamed up to create a whitepaper exploring what happens when AI meets CRM.

Read: AI Meets CRM: An MIT Tech Review Whitepaper

This podcast is sponsored by Salesforce. Did you know Salesforce isn't just for Sales? Using Salesforce as an Employee Experience Platform helps make every employee across your organization more productive thanks to a common, mobile-first platform for getting work done faster. Find out more at salesforce.com/EmployeeExperience

Palo Alto Networks Federal Ignite 2019, a security conference for the future, brings together leading cybersecurity professionals and government officials for panels and keynotes on Next-Generation security priorities along with hands-on training, best practices and new innovations on Thursday, October 10, and Friday, October 11, in Washington, D.C. Register at ignitefed.paloaltonetworks.com.