SolarWinds CEO on Building Trust After Breach, Unifying IT and C-Suite, and GenAI Future
The company stands on solid financial ground even after a massive breach four years ago shook the tech community. SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna tells InformationWeek that his “against the grain” approach helped rebuild trust.
At a Glance
- Ramakrishna's support for CISO Timothy Brown highlighted the importance of a collaborative, team-based cybersecurity.
- SolarWinds saw a 97% customer retention rate in the most recent quarter, which Ramakrishna attributes to rebuilding trust.
- SolarWinds took a measured approach to generative AI, prioritizing observability and AIOps to deliver ROI.
Sudhakar Ramakrishna was just days into his new role as SolarWinds chief executive officer when news broke of a historic nation-state hack targeting his company.
During “Sunburst,” a cyberattack spanning nearly two years targeted SolarWinds’ flagship software platform, Orion. The attack struck several US government networks, including the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, State, and Treasury. The 2019 attacks were revealed in December 2020. The US suspected Russian state actors were behind the breach.
In the ensuing fallout, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil suit in October 2023 alleging the company and its CISO, Timothy Brown, had committed fraud by failing to disclose the breach sooner. In July, a federal judge dismissed most of the charges in the lawsuit.
When Ramakrishna first walked into the SolarWinds offices in January 2021, he faced some tough decisions. The company in 2021 shed a large portion of its workforce, going from a headcount of 3,340 to 2,147. A security software firm falling victim to one of the biggest cyberattacks in history took a toll on reputation and customer trust as well.
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