The smartest man in cybersecurity

LIHUE — Carlos Villalba is the man to talk to when it comes to cybersecurity.

He came into the world of professional cybersecurity after he realized he was an accidental hacker before the internet was even a thing. He says he does what he does because, at the heart of it, it’s about protecting people, their lives and their families.

“I’ve seen small businesses that have been working for generations, two, three, four generations, lose it all,” Villalba said, “because they were compromised and they didn’t have the technology or expertise on how to put their head above the water.”

In some cases, he was able to help.

In others, he was too late, one of which led to the suicide of the head of the family.

“There was too much, they were working their whole life to send their two kids to college,” Villalba said. “When it was time to do it, they couldn’t do it. I have my deep personal reasons to do what I do in the world of cybersecurity.”

Villalba, the vice president of Security Services at Terra Verda LLC, was introduced as the smartest man in cybersecurity by his colleagues. The Phoenix-based security expert was Hawaiian Telcom’s guest speaker as they hosted an educational series Friday at Gather Federal Credit Union.

Villalba offered his experience and insight to the 20 business owners who attended the meeting entitled, “Cybersecurity-Best Practices, Tools &Solutions.”

Lihue’s Jonathan Chun took the 90-minute meeting to heart.

“I learned a lot, it’s kind of timely for us,” Chun said, who works for the law firm Belles Graham. “Luckily we have not been, I don’t believe there have ever been any attacks, but we do have information and data that would be sensitive. We are under an obligation to make sure that our data is protected.”

Chun believes that cybersecurity is necessary.

“To actually go through and inventory (cybersecurity), it is going to be time-consuming, but it will be helpful,” he said.

Villalba was not trying not to be too technical.

“I’m trying to simplify,” he said of his presentation after receiving a standing ovation from the attendees at its conclusion. “Let’s begin somewhere. I know people have something, but usually what they lack is the order of how to do things.”

Villalba equated his techniques of managing cybersecurity as simplifying the menu.

“The demand is here to learn about this subject,” Kaliko Martin, business development manager for Hawaiian Telcom said.

Hawaiian Telcom is hosting a similar educational series on Oahu next week that sold out in a day.

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Ryan Collins, county reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or rcollins@thegardenisland.com.