Former soldier, reporter and marketer finds dream career in cybersecurity

Before finding his forever-career in cybersecurity, David Shipley was a soldier and then a reporter. It was his time on the communications and marketing team at the University of New Brunswick that got him into cybersecurity, though. When the university experienced a significant cyber breach, Shipley helped solve it.

He went on to create Beauceron Security (external link) , a software company that gamifies cyber training, like simulation activities, to give people a cyber risk score.

“Like the rings on your Apple Watch, it's a metric that you can orient to do good things, get notifications, and rewards and badges and points, and feel good about caring more about security,” said Shipley, who recently completed a stint with the Catalyst Cyber Accelerator, an initiative of Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Ryerson that offers mentorship and resources to promising cybersecurity scaleups.

Shipley breaks down the meaning of cybersecurity as “human control of technology.”

“The human in control of technology is a positive story for us,” said Shipley. “Technology in control of humans is not a good story for us.”

His company has deployed this scoring system and technology to hundreds of customers across North America including banks, governments and post-secondary institutions. The training has expanded to hospitals since the onset of COVID-19, as ransomware activities have increased. 

“We need to protect health care more than ever,” Shipley said.

Something Shipley is most proud of, though, is how companies like Beauceron Security are creating Canadian-led cybersecurity jobs and services.

“I think it’s imperative that we can create jobs of the 21st century here in Canada,” he said. “Products built by Canadians for Canadians [that] understand our cultural needs, our privacy laws [and] our economic realities are incredibly powerful.”

Shipley knows that Canadians need Canadian examples when it comes to making sure information and data stays safe.

“They want to know the government’s rules on data breaches [and] they want data sovereignty. That’s important to them.”

Shipley was fascinated by the Catalyst Cyber Accelerator when he was introduced to it by Cyber NB (external link) .

“We jumped at the opportunity to participate in a national cybersecurity accelerator,” he said. Shipley applied for the accelerator so he could keep learning and gain access to the phenomenal resources that are available from the accelerator.

“The opportunities have been massive.”

Shipley also says that being around other co-founders in the accelerator is like a “battery recharge.” Working with creative minds in the cybersecurity field reminded him about the deep passion that exists for protecting Canadians.

Passion, Shipley says, is one of the biggest tips he has for anyone interested in pursuing a career as an entrepreneur. And as far as cybersecurity is concerned, Shipley is encouraging others to explore the space.

“It’s not going away any time soon.”

Cybersecure Catalyst launches a Cyber Range

In February the Cybersecure Catalyst added the Catalyst Cyber Range to its list of training opportunities. The Catalyst Cyber Range is a federally funded project that provides onsite and virtual programming to organizations across Canada.

The virtual training simulates real-world scenarios that help prepare cybersecurity professionals for imminent threats.

In addition to training, the Catalyst Cyber Range will be a platform for research and new product testing that organizations can leverage to ensure they are prepared for any cyber threat.

Supporting small and medium businesses

Later this month, the Cybersecure Catalyst at Ryerson will launch a small-medium business (SMB) portal to help businesses catch up on cybersecurity knowledge. The portal provides free tools and resources to identify cybersecurity risks. They will also have the option to complete a nine-module course that can help build a cybersecurity culture within their operation.

David Shipley agrees with this approach.

“When you stop and you look at small and midsize businesses, which are the backbone of the Canadian economy, they need our help more than ever before,” he said. “And we need to build products and services at scale that can help Canadian enterprises. There's a huge opportunity there.”

The Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Ryerson is supported by Rogers, RBC, the City of Brampton and the Government of Canada. For more information visit https://www.torontomu.ca/cybersecure-catalyst/.