Panel Profile: William Hill Group CISO Killian Faughnan

Welcome to the IT Pro Panel Profile, where we talk to the CIOs, experts and IT leaders that make up the IT Pro Panel, and discover their top tech, pet peeves and IT inspirations.

For security professionals, the gaming and betting industry presents a unique challenge. It's a lucrative target for hackers not just due to the amount of money and transactions it processes, but also because of the rich store of personal data it deals with.

On top of that, gaming companies have to contend with numerous different local regulations, including data storage and processing standards and requirements on what kind of technical infrastructure must be used.

This is the challenge that Killian Faughnan, Group CISO of William Hill, has to contend with. He has to keep the company's millions of customers safe when making bets online or using in-store electronic terminals, as well as protecting the company's infrastructure from intruders.

Killian Faughnan

Group CISO - William Hill

Describe your role in 20 words or fewer.

I'm Group CISO, responsible for security governance and technology for all William Hill brands in Europe and the US. 

What was your first computer? 

A Gateway 2000 386 - it was small, but it did the job (once you had the dozens of floppies required for any task in the right sequence).

What do you like most about working in IT? 

The variety of the goals to accomplish, and the level of belief you find in teams who really are pushing the boundaries of the way we work, and how we deliver products.

If you could magically get rid of one piece of technology forever, what would it be, and why? 

BIOS system beeps - to be replaced with something more soothing.

What future tech innovations are you most excited about? 

Security as Code. Like a lot of things it's been around for a while, but seeing it gain ground in practical use is amazing - with more to come.

Who’s your biggest inspiration in the world of tech? 

Steve Wozniak, for why he developed the PC rather than what he developed - to provide everyone with access to computing.

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