Ragashree Shekar M C
Senior Security Engineer
AuditBoard
AuditBoard transforms how audit, risk, and compliance professionals manage today’s dynamic risk landscape with a modern, connected platform that engages the front lines, surfaces the risks that matter, and drives better strategic decision-making. I manage a team of engineers who design end to end security, including securing the infrastructure, platform, and software all as service.
Evolution in technology has rendered imagination into reality. However, it brings a lot of security risk along with it. I get to tackle these risks head-on and secure the organizations, products, and ultimately each individual. As they say, it takes one tiny hole to bring down an incredible ship. I get to find these holes in the field, design, and fix them to secure all of us. This is what I love about my work!
Typically, my day involves research & innovation, discussions, deep dives, and hands-on experience. I research security best practices, deep dive studies to understand them, and hands-on practice to implement them. Discussion with the product owners and architects to understand the product roadmap so I can design the security features and functionalities to be included in them. Discussion with the developers to plan and implement the security roadmap. Discussion with the test team to fix the security loop holes. Discussion with the operations team to ensure the security in runtime is as expected, and to ensure any deviations are recognized and addressed in the right manner. I also set aside dedicated time to dive deep into gray areas and work towards innovations, in terms of research papers, project implementations, and intellectual property submissions.
Although I enrolled in university to study biology, I switched my major after enrolling in a Certified Ethical Hacker Workshop by one of the world's top hackers, Sunny Vaghela. This steered my interest toward the field of information security - to make the world a better and secure place for all of us. I earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from The National Institute of Engineering in Mysore, India. My first role was at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) as a Solutions Architect. I moved up to Software Engineer II in the 2+ years there. Then I moved on to Nokia. I worked as a Cloud Security Specialist and was one of the founding members of their private cloud security team. I held a few different internships and positions while I attended Carnegie Mellon University for a Master of Science degree in Information Security. I was a Technical Lead at Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which uses an open source software stack, brings together the industry’s top developers, end users, and vendors; and serves as a neutral home for collaboration. Now I work for AuditBoard.
While we accelerate the technological advancements on an exponential gradient, I aim to build a safe and secure environment. I will achieve this from the technology perspective via enhanced security solutions for all digital products, and educating the wider user community, on security best practices and innovations. I also promote veganism and the ethical treatment of animals.
I spend some of my free time volunteering with non-governmental organizations focused on animal welfare and education for underprivileged.
"Veni, vidi, vici." ~ Julius Caesar This translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered."