Russia: Natalya Kaspersky Russia’S Top Security Woman
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PERSON OF RUSSIA RUSSIA: NATALYA KASPERSKY RUSSIA’S TOP SECURITY WOMAN Natalia Kaspersky has been nominated as the most influential person from Russia Q1 2015 for her input in the IT industry. Her current company InfoWatch is the global leader and one of the most powerful technological security companies, witnessing a tremendous growth of 70% per annum. The entire IT industry has been avidly watching what her next step will be. Read an exclusive interview of the former Co-founder of Kaspersky Laboratory and CEO of InfoWatch to Sama Dean and Lydia Vladimirskaya. fter an extensive search that corporate data from leakage, growing at involved constant additions and 70% each year. Natalya’s career really removals of individuals’ names took off when she headed up business on BRIC Magazine’s shortlist for operations at Kaspersky Laboratory in the winter issue’s ‘Person of Russia’, our 1997. She became the CEO of the company journeyA led us to the Russian Ball held in and personally formed and built up all London’s Royal Albert Hall this November. the business processes and distribution The ball was organised by Timofey Musatov channels for the IT security product, which and comprised an amazing mixed crowd would later become the fourth leading from both the western world and Russia. global antivirus company in the world and Timofey is a person very well known in value at $1.8 billion [£1.1 billion]. Moscow circles and is certainly an authority Before 2007, she was a co-owner within the most infl uential international along with her former husband, Eugene Russian scene. The infamous Bond girl, Olga Kaspersky, the computer genius behind Kurylenko, attended the ball, along with the Kaspersky Lab. Today, her main duties are she had to reinvent the entire model of fi rst pianist of the Russian orchestra, and taken up by InfoWatch, which used to be a InfoWatch and redesign the software to the proud owner of the most exclusive wine daughter company of Kaspersky Lab. At the make the company operate and become shop in London, Yevgeny Chichvarkin, and time she took over its operations, InfoWatch one of the most successful and reliable many others. had a negative cash fl ow and nobody security systems in the world. For her When we put the question of our search believed in its future. It was viewed as the accomplishment in creating the fastest to Timofey, he answered without any unwanted left over after a bitter husband growing corporate security business and hesitation: “Natalya Kaspersky. She’s the and wife business duel. Those closest to managing the most eff ective IT security main person here.” But why? we asked. Natalya worried that her business career product, it was easy to nominate her as our “The entire IT world is watching her every was over. This was in 2007. ‘Person of Russia’. step right now in an eff ort to understand Now, seven years on, Natalya is a mother what’s happening next and how to survive of fi ve, a generous donator to charity, How did your interest in Information in this highly competitive environment,” he particularly to ‘Life Line’ – the charity Technology start? replied with confi dence. founded by Prince Dimitri Romanov for Actually when I was a child I didn’t think Kaspersky hails from Moscow, Russia, children with heart diseases, and according that I would have an IT-related profession. and is the owner of InfoWatch, a private to those closest to her, she is only at the But my parents were both engineers and so I corporate IT security company, a leader start of her newly fl ourishing career. In an (eventually) decided to follow in their steps. I in the sector of protecting confi dential exclusive interview, Natalya confesses entered Moscow State Institute of Electronic BRIC 16 Engineering and in 1989 I graduated with a Kaspersky Lab for 10 years. During the learnt that InfoWatch business was totally master’s degree in Applied Mathematics. decade the company doubled its revenue diff erent from the parent company, so I had yearly, up to $128 million [£81 million] in to invent a new model. We needed to create How did you get into the fi eld of Security 2007. Kaspersky antivirus became number and support demand for DLP [data leak Software? one in Germany, Russia, Vietnam, and some protection]. The software itself had many My then husband, Eugene Kaspersky, other countries, and reached number four in problems, so we needed to completely worked for Russian company KAMI in 1989 the global antivirus market. In 2007, when rewrite it. We entered the German market and developed his own antivirus AVP. In I became Chairman of board and CEO of but discovered that there was strong 1994 I joined KAMI to sell this antivirus. InfoWatch, Kaspersky Lab became one of opposition of labour unions who stood for Initially we were selling AVP on our own the largest players in the global market. protecting employee privacy in the work and had a few hundred dollars in monthly place and considered DLP solutions to revenue, but soon I understood that we What sparked the importance to take be privacy abusing software. In 2009 we needed to build a sales channel. We started over daughter company InfoWatch? were hit by the world economic crisis. to look for partners, both in Russia and In 2007 there happened [to be] a confl ict There was little demand for DLP software; outside, and built a chain of 50 partners between myself and Eugene, who was the customers didn’t want to spend money worldwide. By 1997 I decided to register main shareholder. By that time, we were on data protection. So InfoWatch had to our own company under the Kaspersky eight years in divorce. As a result of confl ict start educating the market. In 2008 we Lab name. I became its CEO and headed I got 65% of InfoWatch shares free. I soon established the fi rst Russian DLP industry BRIC 17 BRIC 18 conference – DLP Russia. In parallel we set up then motivate these people correctly. Then you a “DLP-Expert” association where we invited will build a good team. InfoWatch’s largest customers. It was a special club where customers and vendors discussed You’re a female in a predominantly male all relevant data leakage problems. The Russian industry, what is the most important quality press eagerly covered these club sessions. one should possess to earn credibility in such That is how InfoWatch educated the market an industry? and promoted the importance of protection I think that being a female in a male industry against leakages among the target audience is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. and [thereby generating] sales. Since 2012 You are kind of a bright spot amongst grey and we’ve tripled our business. blue suits. Therefore, everybody remembers you just because there are not too many like You grew the operations of InfoWatch you around. [That being said] I don’t think that during the economic crisis of 2008. How did there is a need to specially earn credibility in you manage to turn the crisis in your favour? such an industry. If you do your job well, you Actually InfoWatch was hit one year after, in will get credibility and respect from colleagues. 2009. Our customers stopped payments and we faced a deferred demand. Our customers You are a mother of fi ve, CEO, one of the promised to pay in 2010, and we had to pull in top 10 richest women in Russia according our belts. We decided not to reduce headcount, to Forbes, and you’re actively involved with but had to signifi cantly cut down employee Skolkovo business school and Skoltech. How benefi t programs. So we survived, and in 2010 do you do it all? there began a slow growth. It’s diffi cult, but fi rst of all I have assistants. My mother helped me a lot with my elder sons InfoWatch protects and cleans up who are now grownups and live separately. information, what is the most And, of course, having children teaches interesting incident you’ve come [one] to be well organised, not to across? waste time, and to choose Confi dential data leaks the main. are a big problem for I think that What is your favourite companies, they lead to being a female in a reputational and fi nancial quote? losses. The number male industry is an What doesn’t kill you of data leaks grows advantage rather than a makes you stronger. constantly. According to disadvantage. You are the InfoWatch Analytical Can you provide us Center, from 2006 to kind of a bright spot with an example from 2013 the number of data amongst grey and your life? leaks showed a fi ve and blue suits One of the most a half time increase. harmful has been the To give you an example internal confl ict with of what the leakage is: one Eugene. He decided to become of the biggest US retailers, Target the main guy with no experience in Group was hit by an extensive theft of its management and business, but he was customers’ credit-card and debit-card data the main shareholder, so I had little chance to earlier this year. 70 million names, e-mails, win. At that time my whole life was Kaspersky phone numbers, as well as 40 million credit and Lab and the unexpected hit from my long-time debit card numbers were compromised during partner was incredibly harmful. an attack on the retailer’s infrastructure.