Meet the Pride: Ankush

In this installation of our Meet the Pride Series, you’ll meet Ankush, Lionbridge’s Information Security Analyst. He has a passion for cybersecurity and for serving his community. Read more in our blog. 

Tell us about your role at Lionbridge.

My position at Lionbridge as an information security analyst involves several essential duties. To ensure our security procedures are robust and aligned with industry standards, I actively participate in developing and enhancing our Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) program. To confirm and enhance our security posture, I support Controls Assurance and external cybersecurity audits like ISO 27001, TISAX, Cyber Essentials, and Cyber Essentials Plus. In addition, I lead security training sessions to equip our staff with skills required to maintain a safe workplace.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

What I enjoy most about my role is the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on our organization's security posture. I find it incredibly rewarding to be involved in building and fine-tuning the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) program. I can ensure that our security measures are both effective and up to date with industry standards. Participating in external cybersecurity audits gives me a sense of accomplishment as we demonstrate our commitment to security excellence.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

A typical workday involves a mix of planned tasks and responding to email queries to complete security training.  I usually start by reviewing emails and replying to security training concerns. I then focus on tasks related to building and fine-tuning our GRC program. This may include updating Eramba (our GRC tool), reviewing customer contracts, or answering customer questionnaires.

Throughout the day, I might assist with preparing for external audits, reviewing privacy and security impact assessment requests, or helping develop a Third-Party Risk Management Program within the Trust team. I also spend time managing security training, either preparing materials or delivering training to colleagues to augment their understanding of security best practices.

Collaboration is a significant part of my role, so I often meet with peers to discuss security initiatives or assist them with tasks. Additionally, I always strive to stay informed about the latest cybersecurity trends and threats to ensure our strategies remain effective.

How long have you been at Lionbridge? How have you seen the company evolve over that period of time?

I joined Lionbridge earlier in Dec 2022. Due to recession, I was laid off. But in Dec 2024, I got a chance to join Lionbridge again.

Over my time at Lionbridge, I've observed several notable evolutions within the company, particularly in information security and our overall technology approach. We have deployed a new GRC tool called Eramba. We achieved a couple of new certifications, in addition to the previous ones, i.e., SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27017. We updated our HRMS tool from SuccessFactors to Nova. The company has shown its growth in every quarter and is evolving progressively.

What excites you the most about the industry you work in?

What excites me most about working in the cybersecurity industry is its dynamic, ever-evolving nature. The constant emergence of new technologies and the corresponding security challenges ensure there is always something new to learn and adapt to. This continuous learning environment keeps the work engaging and mentally challenging.

Where do you live, and what do you enjoy most about it?

I live in Ulhasnagar, a very versatile city in Mumbai, India. The aspect of the city I enjoy the most is the street food. This stems from the diverse population, as individuals from nearly every community live here.

How many languages do you speak?

I speak three languages; Marathi is my mother tongue. Along with that, I speak Hindi and English.

Tell us about your community service activities.

I actively engage in various activities to serve my community, focusing on initiatives that promote:

• Health and hygiene
• Road safety
• Water conservation
• Education recreation
• Environment enrichment
• Helping tribals
• Personality development
• Career guidance sessions

I’ve been volunteering, managing, and leading such activities for the past 6 years. The National Service Scheme Unit of Shri Sidh Thakurnath College of Arts & Commerce and Jivan Foundation helped and motivated me a lot in organizing and managing such events on a large scale. We organized many camps for graduating students and volunteers, like tree-planting campaigns (annually), blood donation camps (twice a year), and 7-day personality development camps at rural areas (annually), during which we survey local problems and do our best to solve them. We promote awareness for cleanliness, hygienic lifestyle, importance of education, safe driving, and on many other topics. The services are never-ending.

What have been the results of some of these activities?

We conduct a blood donation camp every 6 months. All the units we collect go to some specific local patients. These patients have Thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder. It affects your body’s ability to produce normal hemoglobin and requires periodic external blood transfusions to live. We’re proud to help improve these patients’ prognosis and quality of life.

We organize free health checkup camps for people in poverty so that they can consult and get treatment more easily. Our annual tree-planting drive helps nature. We plant thousands of saplings every year, especially in monsoon. We encourage the tribals for healthy lifestyle and to send their children to school by performing street plays and conducting awareness rallies. We support local authorities at festivals to manage traffic and to ensure people follow road safety rules.

Why do you do all these activities to serve your community? What inspires you?

This all started in 2016. When I was in my 11th standard, I was diagnosed with Megaloblastic anemia. I had treatment, but it was so severe that they needed to inject three units of blood into me. Fortunately, I was eventually cured. Somebody’s blood donation helped me at a critical stage. This one line stuck in my head, and I decided to repay this. I started donating my blood after a couple of years. Slowly, donating changed to volunteering along with donating in such camps; volunteering changed into leading; leading changed into organizing camps. Slowly, I began organizing other camps for tree planting, yoga, awareness rallies, and more. My health issue led me down this path.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work and community work?

I like bike riding a lot. Trekking and visiting natural places like rivers, mountains, and beaches give my soul a sense of calm. I also enjoy teaching youngsters parade marching for our national festivals, like Independence Day and Republic Day. Making everyone smile is the most favorite part of my life.