Keeping Airboss’s Data, Employees, and Operations Safe
For AirBoss’s Jack Bergman, data security is as much an adventure as it is the first line of defense. Bergman is Director of Security and Operations for AirBoss, and it’s because of him that the organization is protected from outside cybersecurity threats.
The total cost of cybercrime worldwide in 2021 was estimated to be around $6 trillion. That’s a lot of financial damage done by malicious actors, and it’s why people like Bergman are so important in today’s world of big data.
Bergman says, “IT security is critically important for the organization. I see it as the largest area of risk that any modern company faces.”
“Traditional risk is there, but the number of cyber attacks that we see against organizations continues to grow every single day. It’s one of the few areas where an entire organization can get wiped out in a matter of minutes.”
Bergman is vigilant day in and day out. He protects employees and technology because he understands just how important his job is to a company like AirBoss. It’s why he’s progressed up the corporate ladder, from IT intern to Director of Security and Operations, and it’s why he’s particularly proud to protect AirBoss from any and all IT threats.
From Intern to Director of Security and Operations
Like many at AirBoss who have long-standing working relationships with the company, Bergman began as a college intern. Cyber security and systems operations were something that Bergman was passionate about, and it showed in the way he approached his IT support work at AirBoss.
“I think IT is extremely important to a company like AirBoss because when you look at it as a whole, IT is one of the most critical aspects of a modern business,” he explains. “It’s how everyone in the company communicates. It’s how all of our information is stored. It’s how a lot of our operations and machines run these days. Making sure you have good, strong, reliable IT systems is critical for a business to operate effectively.”
For the next five years after his internship, Bergman impressed AirBoss higher-ups with security assessments and improvements that changed the way the company thought about digital security. His intern role evolved into a full-time AirBoss position as Security Analyst, which paved the way for him to become Director of Security.
“I’ve really been able to grow with the organization,” he shares. “Over the years, there’ve been several attacks against AirBoss that were successfully mitigated because we had someone like me on staff. I think the value of that was seen over time, and with that, the role grew.”
Bergman Continues to Modernize AirBoss IT Systems and Security
Bergman’s initial interests out of college were focused on cybersecurity, and it was through this focus that he moved into system operations management. For him, it’s always been the security side of things. Being a system-wide defender appealed to him.
“I think the security piece is extremely important—to make sure we handle our systems in the proper manner, that we’re doing what we should regarding backups and data security protections, and to make sure that we push the mark forward into the future,” Bergman says. “We have implemented multi-factor authentication, make sure we use secure workstations, and study where breaches could occur, how they could happen, and then work to remediate areas of potential exposure. We’ve made a lot of improvements in the past few years at AirBoss.”
Those improvements are what has laid the foundation for AirBoss’s enhanced security and operations protocols. Bergman and his team grew with the company as they assessed and evolved how AirBoss operates behind the scenes and in the digital space.
“I’ve had some great mentors over the years,” admits Bergman. “I’ve been very happy with AirBoss. I’ve been given every opportunity to grow with the organization, really expand this role, and build the IT security program at this company from the ground up. This has been a really great experience.”
Bergman jokes that it’s common in his line of work to be the first one blamed when something goes wrong and the first forgotten when all is fine, but it’s the nature of the job.
“No one knows that we exist if we’re doing our jobs well,” he says. “It’s the duality of the role. It can be a lot of work sometimes, but it’s extremely rewarding.”
