“I want my team to reflect a variety of backgrounds, opinions, experiences and perspectives to foster creative thinking and ideation. When everyone has the same perspective, you lose the ability to foster exciting, outside-the-box ideas.”
Anne, can you tell us about your professional background and your current role at Keeper Security, Inc.
I’m proud of the fact that I’ve taken an unusual career path, because my diverse experiences have shaped who I am as a communicator today. I began my professional career in the small town of Casper, Wyoming as the evening news anchor of the NBC affiliate. I had dreamed of being a news anchor and reporter since childhood, which brought me to markets in Casper, Reno, New Orleans and ultimately, Washington, D.C. As my family grew, I finally decided that waking up at 1:30 am for the morning show was too much for a mom of two and switched careers to communications! I worked with the Department of Homeland Security as a media strategist for the Science and Technology Directorate as well as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, where I fell in love with cybersecurity. That led me to the private sector, where today I work as the Global Director of Communications for Keeper Security. At Keeper, I oversee all aspects of corporate communications, including media and PR, social media, analyst relations and internal communications.
What does Keeper Security do, and how does it differentiate itself from other companies in the same space?
Keeper Security is transforming cybersecurity for people and organizations around the world with affordable and easy-to-use solutions built on a foundation of zero-trust and zero-knowledge security to protect every user on every device. Our next-generation privileged access management solution deploys in minutes and seamlessly integrates with any tech stack to prevent breaches, reduce help desk costs and ensure compliance. Trusted by millions of individuals and thousands of organizations, Keeper is the leader for best-in-class password and passkey management, secrets management, privileged access, secure remote access and encrypted messaging.
Keeper differentiates itself through its top-notch security model and customer-driven product roadmap. Our security is second-to-none, while our products still maintain a sleek and simple user interface that ensures a smooth user experience for everyone from individual consumers to large, multinational enterprises.
What is the significance of your experience in cyber security subject matter, and how does it contribute to your role as a public relations strategist?
Having worked for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), I understand the critical national and international implications of cyberattacks to our way of life. Cybersecurity is national security and should be prioritized as such. When crafting content, I always think about the tangible impacts of cybersecurity to better connect with my audience. For example, a cyberattack on critical infrastructure could result in everyday Americans losing access to clean drinking water, suffer power outages or lose the ability to reach critical services like 911. When technical content is conveyed in language that anyone can understand with impacts that anyone can relate to, people are more likely to engage and connect with it.
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What is the concept of zero-trust in the context of Enterprise Password Management, and how does Keeper’s enterprise security approach help in preventing cyber threats?
Zero trust is a framework that assumes all users and devices could potentially be compromised, which is why everyone, human and machine, must be verified before accessing the network. Instead of relying on where users are, zero-trust makes them prove who they are. Once users are authenticated into the network, least-privilege access ensures that they can only access the network resources they need to perform their jobs, and no more.
Implemented properly, zero-trust provides IT administrators with full visibility into all users, systems, and devices. People, apps, and services can communicate securely, even across network environments. Keeper’s enterprise password management platform provides organizations the visibility and control over employee password practices that they need to successfully implement a zero trust security model. IT administrators can monitor and control password use across the entire organization and enforce security policies and controls, such as MFA, RBAC and least-privilege access.
How does Keeper’s password generator feature work, and what measures does it take to create strong, unique passwords for users? Also tell more about how Keeper Security ensures the highest level of security for users’ passwords and sensitive data?
Keeper’s password generator creates strong and unique passwords to your exact length specifications, so you can choose however many characters long you would like them to be. It’s integrated right into the vault, which is available on desktop, mobile and through your web browser, so it’s readily available and seamless to use. People have a natural tendency to create passwords that are easy to remember. Unfortunately, this strategy results in users practicing poor password hygiene. Keeper ensures that users have strong and unique passwords for every account that are nearly impossible to crack.
Keeper uses a zero-trust and zero-knowledge architecture with encryption at the record level to ensure the user’s vault contents are secure. Keeper also enables multiple forms of MFA, that can be integrated right into the record and auto-filled on the account’s website. Keeper is a cybersecurity technology that simplifies the user experience, while also increasing security at the same time.
In the constantly evolving world of cybersecurity, how do you ensure that your global communications strategy stays relevant and adaptable to new threats and technologies?
Although the cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing, my strategy remains the same; to meet people where they are. New platforms and mediums are always emerging and it’s important to stay abreast of how and where people are consuming information. While print newspapers and evening television news dominated the media landscape in the 1970’s, people are increasingly turning to social media for their information today. This is why any effective strategy must be forward thinking and multi-faceted.
In the same vein, I also seek to convey information in a format that connects with the particular audience I’m trying to reach. For mainstream, consumer news, I may share information in a short and engaging TikTok video, whereas a c-suite audience of decision makers may be best reached through a thought leadership article in a business-focused online publication.
What advice would you give to other leaders which helped you personally?
There are two matras that I try to live by as a leader: never be the smartest person in the room and seek out different viewpoints. CISA Director Jen Easterly is one of the most intelligent leaders I’ve ever worked with, but she never flaunted that. In fact, she did quite the opposite, always asking questions of others to ensure she fully grasped every intricacy of the topic at hand. I try to follow her lead in my own career.
As a communications leader with an atypical background, I also place great value on the power of diversity. I want my team to reflect a variety of backgrounds, opinions, experiences and perspectives to foster creative thinking and ideation. When everyone has the same perspective, you lose the ability to foster exciting, outside-the-box ideas.
What is the biggest problem you or your team is solving this year?
The biggest challenge our team is facing this year is also our biggest opportunity. In May 2023, Keeper opened our APAC headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. We’re thrilled about the global expansion, market opportunity and ability to share our cybersecurity solutions to help protect an entire region of the world that we previously had little exposure to. However, with that fantastic opportunity comes the challenge of raising our brand awareness in the region and educating APAC markets about the benefits Keeper can provide to both consumers and organizations. We’re already seeing great progress in our SEO efforts, content creation, marketing and public relations, but there’s still plenty of work ahead!
Is there anything that you’re currently reading, or any favorite books, that you’d recommend?
I’m currently reading High-Velocity Digital Marketing: Silicon Valley Secrets to Create Breakthrough Revenue in Record Time by Steve Kahan. Steve has successfully helped grow seven startup companies from early stage to going public or being sold, resulting in $5 billion in shareholder value. He now serves as a marketing expert with Insight Partners, which made a significant growth-equity investment in Keeper in August 2020. Our marketing team at Keeper has implemented many of his best practices.
Thanks, Anne!
Anne Cutler is the Director of Global Communications for Keeper Security, with more than 15 years of public relations and media experience leading technology communications in the private sector and at the highest levels of US government. Anne brings a proven track record of landing and executing positive, mainstream media coverage across major outlets including 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, CBS Mornings, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, The Sun and The Guardian. She collaborates cross-functionally within an organization, as well as externally with national and international stakeholders, to execute a coordinated global communications strategy that drives quantifiable growth. She’s a firm believer in conveying complicated technology and messaging in plain language–quickly, clearly, and accurately–across all platforms, to include traditional and emerging media. A former television news anchor and reporter, Anne’s shared impactful stories from newsrooms across the country, most recently in Washington DC.
Keeper Security offers a range of products and services designed to help individuals and businesses protect their sensitive information and enhance their online security. Keeper Security typically provides Password Management, Secure Digital Vault, Multi-Factor Authentication, Dark Web Monitoring, Secure Sharing, Secure File Storage and business solutions in IT security.