A cybersecurity and hacking enthusiast with over 10 years of experience in the field, Jasmin Landry has come a long way from being a young bug bounty hunter to Senior Director, Information Security, at Nasdaq.
A Bountiful Career
Getting into IT and security wasn’t the first thing on Jasmin’s mind. He wasn’t really passionate about computers when he was younger. He had started school in accounting, and after a year, he realized it wasn’t for him. He took a year off school to try and think of what he wanted to do. Back then, there was a lot on the news about the famous hacking group Anonymous. Jasmin was curious about how they did that, and he ended up developing an interest in everything computer-related but he still wasn’t sure he wanted to do that as a job. One day, on his way to work, Jasmin saw an advertisement for a school that had a new computer science program. He looked it up online and decided he was going to give it a shot. “It turns out it was one of the best decisions I took in my life since I developed a passion for cybersecurity and I’m now getting paid to do a job that I love,” says Jasmin in hindsight.
Jasmin started off his career in IT as a Systems Administrator. He always had an interest in cybersecurity, so he started to do certifications like OSCP, CEH, etc., with hopes of landing a job in that space. It eventually happened and he got a job as a Jr. Security Analyst. He was doing Penetration Testing and AppSec-related work and at approximately the same time, he also started doing bug bounty in his free time as a hobby. He feels it actually helped him excel at work as he quickly saw a huge increase skills-wise, and was finding a lot of vulnerabilities during his assessments which resulted in a few promotions.
After a few years of working at the same company, he ended up doing consultancy work and bug bounty full-time for a few months. Doing bug bounty had become his passion. However, when he decided to do that full-time, Jasmin realized he wasn’t made for doing that as a job. He was stressed and exhausted. It was a challenge for him to give it up full-time and keep doing it as a hobby in his free time and make sure he was mentally and physically healthy to spend more time with his family.
Jasmin moved on to join Metrio as the Head of IT & Security. He built up their security program and then a year later they got acquired by Nasdaq and his work with Nasdaq continues as a Senior Director, Information Security!
Jasmin has participated in several live hacking events around the world winning trophies such as the Best Bug as well as the Most Critical Findings. He has also been a speaker at several infosec conferences.
The Pioneering Company
Nasdaq has always been a disruptor in the financial world. Positioned at the nexus of technology and the capital markets, Nasdaq provides premier platforms and services for global capital markets and beyond with unmatched technology, insights, and market expertise.
The Company created the first electronic exchange and innovative indexes and provides cutting-edge technology to over 130 markets globally. Nasdaq’s vision is to transform the future for the better. They empower economies, promote equal opportunities, and support environmental sustainability through their daily work. Nasdaq helps communities, clients, employees, and people from diverse backgrounds to achieve their full potential. As a technology company, they are focused on embracing the unknown, exploring the amazing, and shaping a future that benefits everyone.
An Exemplary Leader
As a Senior Director of Information Security at Nasdaq, Jasmin gets to work with a lot of different teams, such as marketing, sales, development, and of course, other infosec teams as well. His team’s role is to ensure Nasdaq’s products are as secure as possible to prevent security breaches.
Jasmin likes to lead by example! He likes to be hands-on with his team and still do technical work even though his role is more of managerial. He tries to use his experience, skills, and knowledge in infosec and cybersecurity to advance his team and bring them to the next level. “I’m all about constant learning so I try and teach as much as possible so my team can grow, and each attain their individual and professional goals,” he says.
Jasmin mainly uses social networks such as X and LinkedIn to stay up to date with changes that are happening in the industry. He also schedules some time on his calendar every week to read up on what’s happening in the world in infosec and cybersecurity. It allows him to better prepare for upcoming changes, develop expertise in new areas, and so forth.
Upbeat about the Future
Before speaking about the future, we asked if there was something Jasmin would like to change anything in the past. To which he says “I wouldn’t necessarily change anything in my career as I’m happy with how it went so far and how it’s going now.” However, he shares how he started school in programming and after the first semester, he switched to a different program which was more IT and networking-related. He didn’t really like programming and wasn’t too good at it. But after a dozen years in the industry, he feels knowing how to code would’ve greatly helped him automate certain tasks to be more efficient. He still learned throughout the years, but he does need to Google it or ask ChatGPT for certain things, as it’s not natural for him.
Coming to the future, Jasmin is upbeat about AI and its prospects. He feels AI will have a significant impact not only on the industry that he works in but on a lot of other industries as well. “We’ve already seen a lot of changes and improvements on that end in the last couple of years or so, and I only expect it’ll improve a lot more 5 years from now,” he says.
Jasmin concludes our interaction with a message for the young tech enthusiasts saying, “Follow your goals and dreams, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes happen, and you’ll continue making some. You need to accept it and learn from it, and you’ll grow both personally and professionally.”
Quote: “Never give up. When we set objectives, we have to work for it. No matter how hard or how long it’ll take, don’t give up. Once you achieve your goal, you’ll be extremely happy and proud of yourself!”