In a time when billions vanish into the digital ether with just a few keystrokes, cybersecurity has turn out to be greater than a technical self-discipline — it’s a battleground. Based on FBI statistics, over $12.5 billion was misplaced to cybercrime in 2023 alone, a staggering determine that has tripled since 2019. However the dialog round digital security extends far past numbers for Uldana Mussabekova, a cybersecurity professional with roots in Central Asia and a profession solid in a few of Austria’s most complicated monetary environments. It’s about duty, readiness, and illustration.
Through the years, Mussabekova has quietly constructed a repute as some of the insightful minds in European cybersecurity. Her profession started inside considered one of Austria’s largest banks, the place she did greater than reply to threats — she constructed techniques to anticipate them. A cornerstone of her early influence was the event of a KPI lifecycle course of that allowed her workforce to measure and interpret safety efficiency in actual time, figuring out weak spots lengthy earlier than they might be exploited.
However metrics have been solely the start. Mussabekova led an formidable effort to evaluate the incident response readiness of important banking groups working within the SWIFT atmosphere — the invisible infrastructure behind worldwide banking transactions. In doing so, she helped shore up cybersecurity not only for one financial institution, however for greater than 20 subsidiaries unfold throughout the continent.
Now working at one of many largest insurance coverage corporations in Central and Jap Europe, Mussabekova continues to affect the area’s digital defenses. She oversees enterprise-wide knowledge safety efforts, pushing ahead rigorous requirements whereas balancing the complexity of modern-day regulation. Her work doesn’t go unnoticed. In 2025, she obtained the celebrated “Maverick of the Year” award on the Circumstances & Faces Worldwide Convention for what the jury described as “transformational leadership in times of digital volatility.” That very same yr, she was invited to hitch the panel of specialists for the Globee Awards for Cybersecurity.
However Mussabekova’s journey is about greater than technical success, it’s additionally about constructing sturdy skilled communities and empowering others. Early in her profession, she realized that technical experience alone wasn’t sufficient; cultivating a tradition of collaboration and steady studying was simply as important. This realization led her to co-lead skilled improvement initiatives at her former financial institution and mentor aspiring cybersecurity professionals by way of packages like ‘Women4Cyber.’ For her, management isn’t solely about decision-making, it’s about setting a typical, sharing information, and creating alternatives for others to develop.
When requested whether or not the best threat to a monetary establishment is exterior hackers, fraudsters, or inner, Mussabekova is unequivocal. “The real danger is disorganization. A bank can have every external firewall in place, but if internal processes are fragmented or misaligned, the whole structure is vulnerable.” In her view, the simplest protection technique isn’t nearly the best instruments — it’s about alignment, accountability, and tradition. Common coaching. Clear protocols. And above all, integration.
Nonetheless, she cautions that vigilance is required even from the surface. For atypical shoppers questioning the place their cash is most secure, her recommendation is obvious: ask questions. “Understand how your bank stores and processes personal data. Look for compliance with standards like PCI-DSS, GDPR, and ISO 27001. A company’s transparency and its track record are often your best protection.”
At a time when the digital financial system is increasing quicker than its safeguards, Uldana Mussabekova provides not only a voice of cause however a path ahead. Not by way of concern, however by way of construction. Not by way of exclusion. And above all, not by way of panic, however by way of preparation.
