Dr. Richard Diston - Thought Leadership Interview

Security Thought Leadership: in conversation with Martin Gill

This episode contains strong language
Dr Rich Diston is a career security practitioner, with a MSc with distinction and a professional doctorate. He has held too many professional accreditations to count, and currently holds strong views about security practice and the industry.

He works as a trainer/consultant helping develop security professionals, but if you want him to help you he will wish to vet you first, and you will have to go and find him, he doesn’t advertise. He admits he is an industry hate figure, and routinely gets hate mail. He has a low tolerance of 'bullsh*t' and bad ethics. It is worth noting that he is autistic and a practicing Stoic.
As an example of his lack of compromise, when he was told that he is a bad reflection of the security sector he replied ‘f**k off, what an absolute moron’. He's been threatened by people who claim they will 'raise an army' against him.
He argues ‘security is the most dishonest business in the world’, and points to research that indicates that high performing individuals go to industries with measurable outcomes, which says a lot about the people ending up in security. He says that ‘security professionals say they are learning but all they are doing is believing’. And he refuses to use the word ‘cyber', a word he detest as 'mindless'.
For Rich, thought leaders need original ideas and then the ability to communicate them, and also the courage to convey their beliefs. In this discussion you decide what you think, you may be outraged, you will likely be informed, and you will certainly witness a distinct take on security from someone quite happy to tread - maybe even stamp - on ground, others avoid. And you will also learn about the person that most influenced him, the book that had the most impact on him, and the issue he feels the security sector most needs to prioritise.
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