M3AAWG is exploring the historical journey that has shaped our organization for two decades. Each month in 2024, the pioneers of M3AAWG will appear in this blog to share our collective story. These are the trailblazers, the innovators, and the champions for action in M3AAWG!
This month’s interview is with Severin Walker. He is a past Chairperson of the M3AAWG Board of Directors and currently serves as Co-Vice Chair to the Board of Directors. He also Co-Chairs the Growth and Development Committee and previously served as Co-Chair of the Technical Committee.
Today, Walker is the Director of Business Strategy Development at Vade/Hornet Security. He works closely with key industry stakeholders, including ISPs, service platforms, and OEMs, to evolve their product offerings in response to emerging cybersecurity threats. Previously, Walker led several teams within Comcast’s customer and messaging security operations for nearly 20 years.
Here is our interview with M3AAWG pioneer, Severin Walker.
How long have you been with M3AAWG?
I’ve attended since 2009 and began actively contributing to the Technical Committee after a few meetings.
What inspired you to engage and contribute to M3AAWG?
The work and discussions spoke directly to my work as an anti-abuse engineer. Additionally, I was excited to work alongside so many industry peers that held similar positions and I had known for years prior.
What would you say M3AAWG’s most important contribution to the industry has been over the past 20 years?
There are individual technologies and methodologies that have begun as M3AAWG work, but more importantly the unique way in which this work is done has proven to be an example globally. Contributors from competing companies and disparate parts of the industry working together within a trusted sphere has been a powerful framework that has continued to bring more to our fold and prompted regionalized versions of the activity.
What would you consider to be the biggest change in M3AAWG from its early days to now?
The scope in which the expertise is applied to. What started as anti-spam has evolved as both the industry and the nature of attacks have changed. We’ve been able to use the power of M3AAWG’s way of facilitating collaboration to address defenses in the mobile, network security, SaaS, hosting, and other segments over time.
What would you consider the most significant challenge M3AAWG has faced in its 20-year history?
The scale of the attack vectors has changed dramatically. From botnets, readily available automation, state-sponsored operations, and now A.I., the attacks are far more sophisticated than ever before.
What is one of your best memories or proudest moments with M3AAWG?
When we were able to announce both JP-AAWG and AF-AAWG to the membership. The fact that members from those regions (Japan and Africa) took the initiative to address their unique regional issues based on what M3AAWG has done primarily in North America and Europe, and be a success, proves the impact that the work can have.
What role has M3AAWG played in your career?
Aside from the shared technical knowledge that I have been able to implement directly into my work over the years, M3AAWG afforded me opportunities to learn and practice leadership, public speaking, and group dynamic skills. As I progressed from engineer to management, I definitely relied on much of my M3AAWG experience to facilitate success among my teams. Additionally, it has been a useful tool to help instill the same skills in my own team members.
What advice do you have for someone getting started in M3AAWG?
Don’t get intimidated by all the attendees who appear to know what they’re doing. We all started in the same way. It can seem daunting to find your niche, but it is a volunteer organization at the end of the day. Ask around and determine where there is work that you’re capable of doing, volunteer, and you’ll quickly find other avenues and people to continue learning from. One of my first extended tasks was simply going through years-old documentation for the Technical Committee and flagging sections for updates. It wasn’t the most challenging work, but it directly contributed to the mission of M3AAWG and had me getting more involved with the other members and chairs of the Technical Committee.
What is your greatest fear/hope for the online security/anti-abuse industry?
Given the role the internet and communications plays in all of our lives globally, I worry about how incident response and cybersecurity teams continue to be severely under-supported and under-funded. The cliche of “security is always the last consideration” could ultimately lead to even more and greater catastrophic failures in the commercial and government sectors if we do not prioritize the kind of best practices that M3AAWG has consistently worked to publicize.
People like Severin Walker established the foundation for M3AAWG’s efforts, building a legacy of work that has made a significant impact in the fight against online abuse over the past two decades. Walker, together with M3AAWG peers within the industry, created a trusted network to share diverse skill sets and information that aided in solving problems and creating potent strategies for combating online abuse. We are prepared to develop best practices and techniques to overcome today’s challenges because of the strength of this network. We extend our sincere thanks to Severin Walker and recognize that his contributions have helped us to see our future: a world free of online abuse.