Meet Erik Van Dijk, Former Head of IT at Kinsta

"Building a strong security awareness culture and focusing on the fundamentals like password hygiene, access controls, and other key areas is in my opinion the strongest return on investment."

Tell us about your role
While the Head of IT at Kinsta. I managed our small internal IT team, which provided IT services and support for our 100% remote workforce, and additionally oversaw all of our security compliance programs.

What are the biggest challenges facing security teams right now?
In my mind, the threat landscape is evolving at a hyper-accelerated rate. While AI can be really powerful and useful for good, threat actors are leveraging these same technologies to enhance their malicious efforts. It can be very daunting to keep up with all of the new exploits and malicious activities going on in the world. In addition, security still faces the same challenges as before: human factors. Cutting edge tools are great, but building a strong security awareness culture and focusing on the fundamentals like password hygiene, access controls, and other key areas is in my opinion the strongest return on investment.

What excites you about the future of 1Password?
1Password as a company really values the opinion of folks like me. I've been invited to provide feedback on countless new features, so we're seeing 1Password evolve into a product that's built with users in-mind. As a bonus, passkey support is really exciting!

When did you first learn about 1Password?
I started using 1Password in a professional environment about 5-years ago.

Why do you love 1Password?
Short answer, it's easy to use. I've always held the belief that 1Password has the cleanest and more user-friendly interface.

Why is cybersecurity important in your industry?
As a leader in the Wordpress hosting industry, Kinsta is trusted by Agency, Enterprise, SMB, and Non-Profit customers to keep their websites online, secure, and performant. Security is really at the core of everything that they do.

What are 1-2 tips for other cybersecurity/IT professionals that have helped you navigate or grow your career in the industry?
Never stop being curious, and embrace failure. My educational background was not in IT, and I started my career in a customer-facing break/fix role. I was able to grow my career by putting my hand up and volunteering to try new things, even when it made me extremely uncomfortable. Did I fail? Yes, a lot. Did I grow faster than I ever could have imagined? 100%.