Jeff Reich

Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA)
Executive Director

Jeff Reich has been the Executive Director of the Identity Defined Security Alliance since 2023 and has been actively involved in the security and identity community for five decades.  He is a well-known advocate for cybersecurity awareness and education.  He joined IDSA from the Cloud Security Alliance. Before CSA, he created and built the security and risk functions at ARCO, CheckFree, and Rackspace.  Jeff did the same at multiple financial services companies and five startups.  He has received numerous accolades and certifications as a cybersecurity expert and industry leader, including CISSP certification from ISC2 in 1993, and the ISSA Distinguished Fellow designation in 2011.  In 2015, Jeff was inducted into the ISSA Hall of Fame.

Back to basics for securing the human factor

We are becoming quite adept at dealing with technology threats and vulnerabilities. We spend a lot of time, effort and money on software, hardware and inter-related systems. These are important. I have been in this industry for over 30 years and, in addition to these things, I still go back to the basics that I learned in the beginning. People make security work and people make it break.
CSOs, broaden your organizational focus

When you lead a security function for your organization, especially if your title begins with a "c," you are no longer a security professional, primarily. You are a business leader, just like the head of sales, engineering, business development or any other discipline. More chief security officers are beginning to act this way, but we all need to get there.

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