Myla Pilao: Conquering digital threats

MANILA, Philippines - A day in her life usually involves dealing with at least five billion security threats and issues in the lab. Yet, this woman is still able to accomplish some more – even champion a cause.

Myla Pilao, director of TrendLabs marketing communications at Trend Micro Inc., juggles a number of tasks and does it excellently. A peek into her portfolio will tell you just how hardworking the lady is.

Myla leads the security research communications at TrendLabs, Trend Micro’s Research and Development Center, and heads the division of the company that monitors the security threat landscape, including high-profile attacks like advanced persistent threats (APTs) and prevalent Internet security threats like mobile malware.

She oversees a team that monitors and manages critical incidents and developments in the threat  landscape. Communication plans to broaden understanding on the threat landscape and security information is also a task under her wing. Myla is also an in-demand speaker on the subject of digital threats and its impact on the computing public and countermeasure strategies.

Yes, even Myla admits it is a tough industry to be in for a woman. But a lady’s charm and charisma seem to be a powerful combination no matter her profession. It also helps that Myla is the rare combination of beauty and brains.

“Women are very perceptive and that’s our advantage because it gives us a lot of emotional sensitivity. Our social competence allows us to blend with the community,” begins Myla. “Because you’re a woman, you get challenged in so many ways. But if you can hurdle them and cross the chasms, which a lot of women already did, there’s a personal gratification.”

Myla, however, is quick to explain that being a woman was only half of the equation. The other half was to prove that someone without an IT background can deliver the job.

“There was a little intimidation during the beginning because I was one of the very few who were externally hired. Most of them rose from the ranks because the business is really tough,” says Myla, a Communication Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and an MBA degree holder from the National University of Singapore. “There’s that part of you who want be well-versed about what’s happening; you want to understand it not just cerebrally but logically to make sure that every decision you make is logical enough for the company to take the risks.”

With experiences in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector as well as a short stint in the early years of the BPO industry, Myla joined Trend Micro, a global leader in Internet content security software and cloud computing security, more than 12 years ago.

She never looked back because it was a decision that proved to be a very good one.

 â€œI joined the company at a time when it was really starting to expand not just in the number of people but in the services that it offers the market. I started in the knowledge-based (side of the business),” she relates.

A year after, Myla was tapped to handle the global operations for the support group, where she supervised all English countries. “This was when I’ve proven to myself that I don’t really need an IT course. It comes with experience and the people around you who will help you navigate yourself around the industry. And the company let me take risks and that allowed me to propel a lot not just on the skills I have but to be confident in making logical decisions. In a way, Trend Micro became a huge playground for me.”

According to Myla, joining Trend Micro also made her realize how good and sharp Filipinos are when it comes to the core of information technology because the Filipino talent speaks the language. “I have a very great team behind me. I was able to survive because of the resources I have: my people and the company culture to never stop learning. We are a learning organization,” she says.

A no-nonsense person, Myla also champions creating a safe online environment not only for the company’s clients but for the non-revenue market such as kids and families.

“We’ve been servicing the biggest companies, the multinational companies. We are rallying to protect them from piracies and we are here to safeguard their digital information. But we forgot the most important people, which are right in front of us: the kids. Children have so much access to technology whether you like it or not. And yet they have the same level of security threats that affect companies,” explains Myla. “These kids mirror the lifestyle of the parents or adults around them so we expanded it into Internet safety for kids and families. We wanted it to be a family conversation.”

In line with its ongoing advocacy to keep kids and teens safe online, Trend Micro, Inc. launched the “What’s Your Story” video contest, which will run until Dec. 13, 2013. The contest aims to encourage the sharing of online usage experiences among teens and young adults to spread awareness about the dangers that lurk online and how best to safeguard oneself through online safety practices. (Visit http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.ph for contest details.)

With her many achievements, Myla paused when asked of the greatest of them. After careful consideration and much thought, she says without batting an eyelash: “What pleases me now is not how I advance as an individual but how I advance others. If I see people advance because they carry the same values that I do and they took the risk, that for me is the most rewarding.”