35: How to manage imposter syndrome, with Stuart Coulson

Security Stories

Today's guest is Stuart Coulson, director at Hidden Text Ltd, where he uses the skill sets and knowledge borne of many years in the security industry to help others.
It's probably fair to say that Stuart's journey in cybersecurity hasn't been the most traditional He’s been in sales, recruitment, engineering, working on UK government cybersecurity contracts, to being a deputy CISO. He is now the cybersecurity director of an online gaming company, in addition to managing Hidden Text.
In addition to discussing Stuart's career path in cybersecurity, we chat about managing social media as an infosec professional, and how to deal with imposter syndrome (it's an interesting take - stay with it!). We also discuss how improv comedy relates to cybersecurity, and Stuart has some great advice for anyone who wants to get into mentoring.
In the studio, Ben and Hazel discuss the rise of proxyware abuse, and why organizations and individuals need to be aware of this growing threat. This is based on some excellent research conducted by our Talos team, which you can read more about on this blog.
Also take a look at our brand new ebook, "Creating safe spaces in cybersecurity". This focusses on the topic of mental health and cybersecurity burnout. We’ve captured the stories of 20 people (both leaders and practitioners) from across the cybersecurity industry, and hope that by sharing their experiences, we’ll inspire anyone who is struggling to know they are not alone.
Finally, check out a few of Stuart's Hidden Text articles which we found particularly interesting:
Imposter syndrome does not exist
Dear infosec hiring managers
Episode time stamps:

0.00 - 18.28: Intro and discussing the rise of proxyware abuse
18:29 - 68.45: Interview with Stuart Coulson
68.46 - 79.18: Closing thoughts and outro