Editor’s note: During Volunteer Appreciation Week, the ISACA Now blog is spotlighting an ISACA volunteer each day of the week. Today, we feature Chetan Anand, a digital trust leader with nearly 20 years of experience in related fields. See our Q&A-style profile with Chetan below. Find out more about volunteering at ISACA through the Engage online community.
ISACA Now: Please introduce yourself and provide a bit of background about your career?
I’m Chetan Anand. I’m a digital trust leader with good experience in the implementation, sustenance, auditing and consultation of information security management system, business continuity management system and quality management system, System and Organization Controls for Service Organizations (SOC 1, SOC 2), IT general controls, data privacy and HIPAA, program and project management, and Agile in IT, ITES, manufacturing/product, healthcare/pharma, research and development industries.
I’m an AVP–Information Security and CISO at Profinch Solutions. I possess close to 20 years of professional work experience in governance, risk and compliance, corporate security, and quality operations. I’m from Bengaluru, India and live in the same city.
ISACA Now: What was your first impression of ISACA?
My first impression was that my competence needs would be taken care of by ISACA. ISACA gave me a feeling that I didn’t have to hunt for knowledge on information and cybersecurity, risk, privacy, governance or emerging tech. It’s all under one roof. I felt that ISACA provided a fantastic platform to connect with experts across the world and provided opportunities to learn as well as contribute at the same time.
ISACA to me is “I Safely Always Count on this Amazing organization.”
ISACA Now: Why did you decide to get involved with ISACA’s volunteer program?
I learned about ISACA’s volunteer program from the ISACA Engage platform. I have been volunteering with various local and global organizations for many years now. ISACA’s volunteer program provides unique opportunities to contribute, learn and grow.
ISACA Now: What are you most proud of about your time volunteering with ISACA?
The opportunity provided to me to contribute to ISACA’s Journal review, CDPSE Review Manual review, Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework review; being part of CSX-P Analyst Practice Analysis Task Force (PATF); contributing to global communities such as Audit and Assurance, Emerging Technology, Information and Cyber Security, Privacy, leading global communities such as Risk Management; contributing to special interest groups such as Rising Professionals and SheLeadsTech communities; the fantastic global recognition provided by ISACA for every volunteering role and of course volunteering in the Bangalore Chapter ISACA CommunITy Day are some things that I’m proud of.
ISACA Now: What do you gain from volunteering with ISACA?
Interaction with a global team of experts provides a great learning experience. Reviewing frameworks, journals, articles, whitepapers and blogs for ISACA, and authoring articles and contributing to third-party media outlets help to keep me abreast of emerging technologies. New technologies bring new risks and getting to know emerging technologies helps to identify, analyze and evaluate risks. I’m in a better position to propose risk treatment plans for the identified risks.
ISACA Now: Do you have any especially memorable moments from your time volunteering with ISACA?
One of the memorable moments from volunteering with ISACA is regarding the ISACA Mentorship Program. I was one of the chosen global mentors by ISACA and I had a wonderful time mentoring a mentee. I was so excited to see my mentee successfully achieve 100% of the goals he had set in the ISACA Mentorship Program.
The other memorable moments I’d like to share are my interactions with various staff of ISACA on volunteering opportunities. They bring a wealth of great knowledge to the table, and they are true professionals!
ISACA Now: How has volunteering contributed to your own career?
Firstly, I’d like to thank my organization Profinch Solutions and the leadership for permitting me to volunteer with ISACA. The knowledge gained from reviewing ISACA Journals, articles, whitepapers, review manuals, DTEF framework, mentoring, actively participating in ISACA Engage platform, and leading Engage communities have helped me to implement good practices in my organization. I have initiated mentoring at my organization; I have conducted customized training sessions on information security, digital trust and privacy in my organization; incorporated digital trust as a strategy; shared alerts (threat intelligence) to relevant teams; and reviewed risks and proposed risk treatment plans based on trends. In addition, volunteering has also helped me to gain good industrial reputation.
ISACA Now: What would you say to somebody who is considering a volunteer role at ISACA but hasn’t yet made up their mind?
I’d encourage the person to apply for suitable volunteer roles right away. Once this becomes a good habit, it is difficult to break it!
ISACA Now: What is your favorite thing to do outside of work and volunteering?
Bird watching with my family, connecting with nature and learning about how birds contribute to the natural ecosystem.