Mike Williamson

About Mike Williamson

With 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity field, the journey from an IT2 in the US…

Experience

1. Cybersecurity Architect

   GM Financial

   Feb 2023 — Present

   As a Senior Cybersecurity Architect at General Motors Financial, I was responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive cybersecurity program designed to protect critical information, infrastructure, and applications from internal and external threats for on-premise and Azure environments. My role involved integrating secure development lifecycle (SDLC) practices into IT and application infrastructure, and proactively engaging with cross-functional teams—including IT, application development, and data governance—to define security requirements, conduct risk assessments, and identify vulnerabilities through architecture reviews and security testing. I supported incident response efforts by providing expertise in malware analysis, threat detection, and root cause analysis.I played a key role in creating and maintaining security policies and procedures aligned with industry standards and regulatory requirements such as NIST, ISO 27001, and GDPR. I assessed and advised on security risks associated with development practices, cloud architectures, and infrastructure design. My responsibilities included evaluating and recommending network and security technologies, such as VPNs, firewalls, PKI, and identity and access management systems, and collaborating with engineering teams to configure application firewalls and implement secure network designs.In addition to technical leadership, I partnered with business units to align security initiatives with organizational strategy, contributed to periodic updates of the GMF Cybersecurity Strategy, and led the delivery of cybersecurity education and training programs for employees and contractors. I also served as a mentor to junior team members, providing guidance on secure coding practices, governance, and architecture, while ensuring adherence to security standards throughout the application lifecycle.