Shawn Chakravarty

Shawn Chakravarty is the Senior Director of the Cyber Fusion Center for Upwork, where he is responsible for the Security Operations Center (SOC), cyber threat intelligence, incident response, and threat hunting. Shawn previously built SOCs for PayPal, American Express Global Business Travel, and Level3 Communications, and served as a Senior Cloud Security Engineer for Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Much of Shawn's background is in hands-on, technology-focused occupations with an emphasis on security, networking, cloud computing, and system administration. He has worked extensively overseas, leading security teams in Colombia, England, India, Israel, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, and across the US.

In his current position since 2021 at Upwork, Shawn has established a 24X7 Cyber Fusion Operations Team and a Cyber Threat Intelligence Team, selected and deployed security operations monitoring tools, and built meaningful metrics to show threat posture and growth. At AWS, he was directly responsible for ushering large enterprises into their cloud adoption journey and building incident response plans and procedures for AWS customers.

Shawn's passion for all things cybersecurity has him deeply rooted in many grassroots programs that encourage young people to get excited about technology and make him an ideal candidate to become a SANS Certified Instructor. He was inspired to teach for SANS Institute after taking LDR512: Security Leadership Essentials for Managers - the course he now teaches.

"After I took LDR512, I realized that the SANS style of teaching was precisely what works for me, " Shawn recalls. "Taking a class and applying what I learned my first day back at work showed me the value of the class. SANS brought experts from the industry in to teach its classes, and their experience gave the appropriate context to the practical learning. My experience with SANS leveled up my career and vaulted my skills to the next level."

Shawn serves on the Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Advisory Board and has held certifications in Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI) and Security Leadership (GSLC), along with the Solutions Architect Associate certification issued by AWS and the GlowUp certification issued by Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. He is also a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and multiple winner of the National Cyber League competition.

Shawn is determined to draw on his wealth of security training and experience to create an engaging learning environment for his students.

"My experience building security programs for everything from startups to some of the largest enterprises on the planet brings a unique voice to my classroom," he explains. "My background in security operations, cyber threat intelligence, and incident response provides me with firsthand experiences. I want to share those real-world scenarios, case studies, and lessons learned from actual incidents with the students in my class. I focus on audience-inclusive communication, tailoring communication effectively across different levels of technical understanding."

Shawn also stresses to students that, while there are best practices in security, there is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.

"Each security leader needs to understand their business and how to apply those best practices," he explains. "In LDR512, students learn how to build a security program with the company in mind. There is not always a yes or no answer, and sometimes we must find a compromise in our program. We have to be knowledgeable enough to know when to flex and when to stay rigid. The best way to be ready for this is to understand why different topics are important. Understanding the 'why' is one of the best ways for students to know how to navigate their own company."

Shawn is already reaping the benefits of his teaching and mentoring through the satisfaction he feels when he sees his students building successful security careers.

"Some of these people who started their careers with me are now pillars in the community. I do not want to take anything away from their own hard work, but I hope I gave them the tools for their success," he says. "My own success is what it is because of their successes."