Title: Principal Security Consultant, IBM
Groups: CRC Advisory Board
As a Principal Security Architect, Aparna oversaw mission-critical projects for US Federal Agencies. During her tenure at IBM, she successfully implemented the Zero Trust framework in federal agencies, which included establishing secure development practices, evaluating vendors, scanning and mitigating vulnerabilities, establishing observability, performing performance monitoring, and making sure that SaaS applications have strong security frameworks and controls in place. Aparna is also an important part of IBM’s GenAI CoE, which establishes rules for GenAI governance. Aparna also established an Architecture Review Board for D365 and Power Platform applications, defining security requirements and shaping application architecture best practices for development teams. With 10+ years of experience, Aparna has designed digital transformation projects for large federal clients that have greatly increased output and expedited procedures. Aparna is a motivated person who is committed to making an impact in the cybersecurity industry. She is an active mentor, author, peer reviewer, and speaker. Aparna is passionate about mentoring and community engagement; she is proud to mentor at Women in Cybersecurity, ADPList, and All Tech is Human. Additionally, she is a founding member of the WomenTech Network. Aparna is an author and peer-reviewer of articles related to Zero Trust, Governance, Security, and Privacy at IEEE, ISACA, Elsevier, and the Cloud Security Alliance.