Chief Product Officer

• Jun 2023 - Present

Tala Secure Defender is a security tool designed to protect cloud-based environments and smart devices that utilize the Internet of Things (IoT). It takes an agent-less, non-invasive approach to the identification and assessment of security risks. The tool has features such as one-click remediation, risk quantification, and compliance support. Tala Secure can provide complementary security services to improve the security posture across investment portfolios and unlock potential upsides. Tala Secure Defender is a security tool designed to protect cloud-based environments and smart devices that utilize the Internet of Things (IoT). It takes an agent-less, non-invasive approach to the identification and assessment of security risks. The tool has features such as one-click remediation, risk quantification, and compliance support. Tala Secure can provide complementary security services to improve the security posture across investment portfolios and unlock potential upsides.

Chief Executive

• Jan 2020 - Present

Manager

• Nov 2020 - May 2023

Senior Associate

• Nov 2018 - Nov 2020

Member of Alvarez & Marsal's M&A Services (MAS) group under Private Equity Performance Improvement (PEPI) service. Specialized in IT infrastructure, strategy, and leadership analysis as part of buy-side diligence.

Information Security Engineer

• Apr 2016 - Nov 2018

Served as the in-house penetration tester. Improved security posture by assessing FinTech applications. Assigned to two of the largest lines of business – Wholesale Banking, $8.2B net income in 2016, and Community Banking Technology, $12.0B referred investment assets in 2016. Served as the in-house penetration tester. Improved security posture by assessing FinTech applications. Assigned to two of the largest lines of business – Wholesale Banking, $8.2B net income in 2016, and Community Banking Technology, $12.0B referred investment assets in 2016.

Senior Software Engineer

• Mar 2012 - Mar 2016

Served as in-house penetration tester and subject matter expert in security. Actively improved the security of all customer-facing products for the $1.6B company as of 2016. Helped create a “secure by design” culture by implementing Secure SDLC and Security Bug Bar. Increased operating efficiency of security testing engagements. Mentored and supervised 4 interns and 2 new hires. Served as in-house penetration tester and subject matter expert in security. Actively improved the security of all customer-facing products for the $1.6B company as of 2016. Helped create a “secure by design” culture by implementing Secure SDLC and Security Bug Bar. Increased operating efficiency of security testing engagements. Mentored and supervised 4 interns and 2 new hires.

Application Security Analyst

• Jan 2015 - Jul 2015

In this part-time job as a consultant, I managed security assessments of 120+ applications by external consulting companies. Concurrently developed in-house capacity for static and dynamic testing to reduce recurring expenditure. Managed testing activities for globally dispersed business units in England, France, India, and Australia. In this part-time job as a consultant, I managed security assessments of 120+ applications by external consulting companies. Concurrently developed in-house capacity for static and dynamic testing to reduce recurring expenditure. Managed testing activities for globally dispersed business units in England, France, India, and Australia.

Graduate Instructor

• Jan 2010 - May 2012

Instructor for sophomore courses in Visual Basic, C++, and Computer Security. Contributions included upgrading study materials that were made available to the department after the completion of each course. Achieved highest points within peers in the Graduate Teaching Assistant training, was invited as a Veteran TA the following year to groom incoming graduate students.

Graduate Research Assistant

• Jul 2009 - May 2012

Analyzed the security and privacy risks of newly deployed wireless communication systems. Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) (2009 to 2010): This project has been featured in a CNN presentation as well as other national media. We exposed serious security and privacy risks which enable an adversary to track vehicles in real-time and to insert misinformation to the electronic control unit (ECU). Our attack was effective to the extent of destroying the ECU without leaving any forensic trace.Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) (2010 to Present): We studied various design limitations of the AMR system to demonstrate the feasibility of user-profiling through malicious eavesdropping. We also launched packet spoofing attacks to show that a rogue user can register misinformation into the utility provider’s system. We are currently working on immediate defense mechanisms. Show less