For the seventh instalment in our series of interviews asking leading technology specialists about their achievements in their field, we’ve welcomed the CEO of Transmosis, Chase Norlin to share his journey in the field of cybersecurity as well as his recommendations for those looking to start their career in cybersecurity.

Chase Norlin is the CEO of Transmosis, a nationally recognized Cybersecurity Workforce Developer and the creator of CyberOps, military-grade cybersecurity protection for small business.

Previously Chase was the founder and CEO of Alphabird, which was named the 8th fastest growing company in America by Inc. Magazine.

Chase is also a noted speaker on digital advertising and entrepreneurship with recent engagements including the Goldman Sachs Global Media Conference and Bloomberg Media Summit, as well as the Monaco Media Forum.

Tell us about the business you represent, what is their vision & goals?

Small businesses are the #1 target for cybercriminals today with more than half of all attacks last year, resulting in 60% being closed within six months.

The average ransomware payout is now $177,000 and 83% of small businesses don’t carry cyber liability insurance.

Many small business owners are overconfident and underprepared, falsely believing that Antivirus software and/or a Firewall are enough to protect them.

Additionally, small businesses are now not just liable for damages to their own business but to their partners (third party) and face heavy fines for data breaches by State regulatory authorities.

Increasingly, large enterprises are requiring stronger cybersecurity protection and liability coverage from their small business partners as well given their exposure to attack.

To address this problem Transmosis created transmosisONE, a military-grade cybersecurity platform designed to protect small businesses from cyber attacks.

What inspires and energises you within your work?

The best part about my job is that our business is altruistic in nature and focused on helping people: Transmosis, the parent company, trains underserved and under/unemployed workers into high growth cybersecurity analyst jobs.

Our top graduates join transmosisONE, where they serve to protect small businesses from cyber attack.

There are millions of businesses around the world that need our help and thousands of people in need of opportunities for growth and high salary cybersecurity jobs.

When we were first struck by the pandemic, we saw reports of an increase in cybercriminals phishing through Covid themed scams and attachments. Are these pandemic themed cyber crimes still happening?

Yes, this is on a massive increase, in particular, because of work from home and remote work.

As there has been such a surge in working from home, this has created concerns for cybersecurity professionals, exposing businesses to many threats. What preventive measures would you recommend a business takes to fill those gaps?

All small businesses and SMBs need to protect their endpoints with the latest technology and 24/7 security operations and ideally have cyber liability insurance coverage.

Endpoints are the most vulnerable aspect of organizations and represent the companies’ desktops, laptops and servers. This is where cybercriminals are primarily targeting and these need to be protected first and foremost.

What advice would you give to someone wishing to start their career in cybersecurity?

Start learning cybersecurity as quickly as you can, either online or in person, and try to get industry certifications.

Cybersecurity analyst jobs are not as technical as they seem, and those with basic IT and computer skills have a great opportunity to upskill quickly into cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity careers are growing tremendously as well across every industry category with the average cybersecurity analyst job paying $80k/year at entry-level.

What are some misconceptions that you believe businesses have about cybersecurity?

Many small businesses believe they’re safe from cyberattack or that their antivirus is going to protect them, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Also, many small businesses have no idea how much cyber liability risk they’re carrying because of the fact that the economy has been digitized, which means if you’re breached or hacked you’re likely to be going out of business from your business going down, ransomed, reputational damage, and partners/vendors suing you.

Would you like to share any cybersecurity forecasts or predictions of your own with our readers?

Yes, more small businesses are becoming aware of their risk and are using advanced cybersecurity to protect themselves.

Also, expect to see cyber protection technology and cyber liability insurance coverage to become more intertwined and integrated, thereby reducing commercial insurer’s risk and optimizing the small businesses ability to be protected and covered in the event of a breach.

If you enjoyed this article then why not check out our previous guide on the best ways to learn Java?

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