In this episode of Patch Me If You Can™, Arek Dreyer sits down with Eric Pittman, the Vice President of Cybersecurity at Teradata, to discuss the evolving world of cybersecurity and vulnerability management. Eric brings a wealth of experience from years on the cybersecurity frontlines, including leading teams through critical incidents like major ransomware attacks and collaborating with agencies such as the FBI. The conversation sets the stage by exploring Eric’s work in streamlining Teradata’s patch management processes to deal with the ever-increasing volume of security updates, cloud adoption, and the challenges of tool sprawl and split responsibilities within organizations.
Throughout the episode, Eric emphasizes the importance of a holistic, people-first approach to security, built on the pillars of people, process, technology, and business value. He highlights strategies such as conducting awareness campaigns, tailoring patching processes to different user groups, and automating routine tasks to reduce human error and accelerate response times. The discussion expands to broader vulnerability management, from integrating security tools in the software development lifecycle to ensuring coverage of first-party code, third-party libraries, and new technologies like containers and infrastructure as code.
Eric also shares practical lessons learned from high-stakes incidents, advocating for well-rehearsed response plans, immutable backups, and continuous improvement. Beyond the technical, he draws on his background as a former DJ to illustrate how skills like reading a room and public speaking translate to effective leadership in cybersecurity. As a parting thought, Eric notes he would love to “patch” human awareness against phishing as well as simplify updates for complex platforms, illustrating both the human and technical sides of security and resilience.