Tahir Khan 2016 Bio & Why Me?

About Tahir

Chief Information Security Officer at Sensity Systems with over over two decades of experience in information security. In his current role, he is responsible for enterprise security for systems and platforms as well as leading incident response and threat hunter teams. Mr. Khan's current focus is application security with a concentration on IoT security. He currently holds a Masters of Science from George Mason's school of Electrical and Computer Engineering where he is also an adjunct professor teaching several courses in application security and offensive computing.

Why I would like to be elected to the Global OWASP Foundation Board of Directors

Given my passion for my field, my current role as a CISO and my position as an adjunct professor in the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University I believe that I could contribute greatly to OWASP's core mission in a variety of ways.

1. Academic Outreach. I would like to enhance the reach of OWASP at the university level, starting with George Mason. Currently I teach courses in Penetration testing, Mobile Application and Analysis and Anti-Forensics. These topics lend themselves to the promotion of OWASP's core tenets and it would be my aim to not only emphasize these with my students but with other departments in the college until a core outreach kit can be systemized and used for universities across the nation. Universities are the breeding ground for the next generation of software developers and computer scientists, and that is where the message should be delivered. I would work together with any existing student chapters, to give them a different perspective on the delivery of the OWASP message.

2. Creative Partnerships. I would like to organize pro bono consulting for start-ups. Experts in their respective fields could offer a few hours of services helping deliver the OWASP message which would help strengthen the next generation of companies. To start, we could propose this students in University classes who have the expertise but little professional experience. The consultancy experience would benefit them as they build their resumes and use real-world cases to expand their academic growth while also benefiting the companies by exposing them to the insights of young talent, OWASP methodologies, and ultimately creating a more secure online world for all of us.

If it is not clear, I am passionate about OWASP's mission and am highly enthusiastic to use my skills and resources to further the cause.