“Hackers and scammers never sleep.” That seems to be the consensus among business leaders and cybersecurity specialists in 2024. Globally, businesses reported an average of 1,636 cyber-attacks per week in Q2 alone, a 30% year-over-year increase. The average cost of a data breach increased by 10%, reaching a record high of $4.88 million. Meanwhile, the nature of the threats has also changed: social engineering, ransomware, and DDOS attacks increased, thanks in huge part to advancements in AI technology.
“Cybersecurity’s a game of chess,” Thangaraj Petchiappan remarks, “and I love making the right moves.” It wasn’t always like this for him—starting as a tech support guy, Thangaraj could’ve never guessed he’d end up leading a global cybersecurity team of 300. But here he is, the CTO and Innovation Officer of SIMS at iLink Digital, turning complex cybersecurity challenges into manageable tasks. Thangaraj is particularly interested in AI & cybersecurity, an emergent threat that’s projected to keep growing as corporations embrace this new technology.
“I aim to use AI technologies to address business challenges, objectives, and enhancement strategies in a more creative way,” Thangaraj explains. “The future should advance technology-led business rather than business-led technologies.” This mindset dates back to his early days in the industry.
As a technical support engineer, Thangaraj was the person businesses called when something wasn’t working. But even then, he didn’t just solve the problem; he took every chance he got to learn something new. Instead of focusing only on daily and PMO tasks, Thangaraj dedicated his free time to market research to help clients identify the best cyber tools for their specific model. He also began to develop accelerators and frameworks to speed up his ideas to implementation, efforts that laid the groundwork for the leadership role he holds today.
CrowdStrike Outage
One recent example of Thangaraj Petchiappan’s impact was during the Microsoft CrowdStrike outage on July 20, 2024. This incident, which affected around eight million Microsoft computers across airports, hospitals, oil and gas industries, manufacturing, and banking sectors, caused significant disruptions.
Petchiappan swiftly devised an automated process and robust framework that enabled the resolution of issues in approximately 1,500 machines across 210 healthcare facilities within just 80 man-hours—an achievement that was expected to take at least 400 man-hours. His solution not only saved his clients around $10 million but also saved lives in healthcare by restoring operations with minimal downtime. This accomplishment underscores the critical importance of Petchiappan’s work, especially during high-pressure situations when major IT providers struggled to address the crisis.
When Thangaraj joined iLink, the security and infrastructure team was just one person—himself. All he had were great plans for the department and determination to see it through. Under his guidance, iLink launched the AI-powered Cybersecurity iLab in Central US, a hub for research and innovation that has led to real-time solutions for detecting and resolving threats using AI and Security Copilot features. Thangaraj’s work has secured over 100,000 devices and protected 200,000 users from cyber threats, saving businesses millions in potential losses.
Thangaraj’s expertise hasn’t gone unnoticed in GenAI. Over the years, he’s received numerous awards, including the Dazzle Award from CITI, International Achievers’ Award and the Global Recognition Award. As a member of the Forbes Technology Council and the Senior member of IEEE Systems Council for Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, he’s recognized as a thought leader in his field. Thangaraj is also a regular speaker at major technology events, where he shares his insights on AI, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure management. His elevation to Senior Member status—an honor granted to only 10% of IEEE’s 450,000 members—underscores his extensive experience, professional maturity, and significant achievements.
Away from the podium, Thangaraj spends his time mentoring and expanding his team, which has grown to an army of 300 strong and is on track to reach 500 by 2026. Additionally, Thangaraj has contributed to the industry through over 30 blogs and technical articles on cyberspace and cloud infrastructure management. He is a passionate advocate and a key contributor to Cloud Computing, Compliance, and AI software.
As a leader in this fast-paced space, Thangaraj thrives on meeting market needs in a timely manner. With the nature of the threat evolving rapidly, he’s not just thinking about the immediate future; his vision extends to creating resilient frameworks that will protect businesses from the threats of tomorrow. His goal is to build on the success he’s already achieved, using top-notch AI technologies to address business challenges and technology growth to make the digital world a safer place for everyone.
Thangaraj’s journey is a powerful testament to his dedication to advancing AI. His unwavering commitment to innovation has established him as a leading AI expert in the industry and has left a lasting impact on countless future professionals and emerging talents worldwide.”