Lindsay Preucil of LevelBlue Addresses Latest Threat Trends, the Need for Simplifying Cybersecurity, and Empowering Women in STEM

As part of our outreach program, LeadHER in Security, to support, empower, and advocate for women in cybersecurity, we invited Lindsay Preucil to share about her role, experiences, and thoughts about women in cybersecurity.

After completing her Bachelor of Arts, she forayed into cybersecurity and now holds the esteemed position of VP of Product Operations and Services at LevelBlue. 

Read the answers that addressed various solutions offered by LevelBlue, the threat posed to security via ransomware, phishing, and Business Email Compromise (BEC), and her message for women in cybersecurity.

1. Please tell us about yourself and your association with LevelBlue.

I’m the Vice President of Product Operations and Services Delivery at LevelBlue. My team is responsible for our LevelBlue presales solution design, scope development, and managed network security services delivery. We ensure we’re delivering maximum value based on the customer's need and enable those requirements through to the implementation phase.

I’ve been with LevelBlue (formally AT&T Cybersecurity) for a few years across Operations and Products functions and have had the opportunity to work with our highly talented teams on delivering meaningful security outcomes for customers.

2. Can you tell us about a product or service that LevelBlue offers and its key features?

At LevelBlue, we eliminate security complexity so organizations no longer have to sacrifice security for innovation. We simplify cybersecurity through managed services, strategic consulting, threat intelligence, and research.

LevelBlue’s Unified Security Management (USM) Anywhere platform is a security monitoring solution that centralizes threat detection, incident response, and compliance management in one unified SaaS solution, whether that's across on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments.

It allows organizations to focus on finding and responding to threats, not managing software.

The USM platform integrates our industry-leading Managed Security Services (MSS) and managed XDR solution. MSS offers a suite of services, including consulting, design, deployment, and training, while the managed XDR solution improves threat detection accuracy and enables faster responses to emerging incidents.

USM Anywhere also receives continuous threat intelligence updates from the LevelBlue Labs security research team, who research and analyze the different types of attacks, emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and exploits utilizing community-sourced threat intelligence from the LevelBlue Labs Open Threat Exchange (OTX), the world's largest crowd-sourced threat intelligence exchange.

One of our newest solutions is LevelBlue Managed Threat Detection and Response (MTDR) for Government. It is a 24/7 service designed to protect highly sensitive data for U.S. federal, state, and local governments (or companies doing business with such entities) and supports security teams with proactive threat hunting, threat intelligence, continuous security monitoring, root-cause analysis, and rapid, collaborative incident response.

3. LevelBlue works with AT&T and AlienVault assets. Can you tell us how this expansion and divestment have been from a workforce and resources point of view?

LevelBlue is a joint venture between AT&T and WillJam Ventures and aims to simplify cybersecurity and make cyber resilience achievable for our customers. AT&T holds a minority ownership and has board representation in LevelBlue. We continue to serve AT&T's network and cyber customers and maintain a close working relationship with AT&T.

4. What are some concerns customers have about Managed Security Services? Are there any myths you would like to dispel regarding its role in security?

Many businesses work with Managed Security Services providers like LevelBlue to augment their in-house security teams. It can be a highly effective means to enable a layered security approach while avoiding the challenge of hiring and maintaining experienced cybersecurity professionals in-house.

When working with an MSSP, a business may perceive that they are relinquishing control of managing their security posture. They may wonder if they can be as effective without a dedicated, in-house team to provide the required security support. However, an MSSP like LevelBlue operates as an extension of the in-house team.

Our products and services can be flexible to manage security controls alongside a customer’s in-house team or entirely on their behalf, only escalating the essential information that enables an in-house security team to prioritize their time effectively. Outsourcing security services help with an MSSP may be the strategy that actually enables control as your team stays focused on your core business and most impactful projects.

5. Do you have any specific observations about cybercriminal activities targeting the the LevelBlue customer base? Which solutions helped detect and prevent threats?

We recently released our inaugural Threat Trends Report, 2025 Edition 1, which reveals key findings on threat activity observed in the second half of 2024. The LevelBlue Security Operations and LevelBlue Labs teams analyzed the most prevalent cyber threats and found the following:

• Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) is on the rise
• BECs made up more than 70 percent of the total incidents
• Ransomware groups continue to be highly active.
• Older malware campaigns continue to compromise targets successfully

Organizations can mitigate phishing and ransomware attacks by implementing a secure email gateway that can identify malicious attachments and perform phishing analysis. The gateway should also allow for rules that block specific attachment types and domains within emails. Additionally, educating end users through security training and phishing tests can significantly enhance their awareness and ability to identify potential threats.

While Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks may seem less severe than ransomware attacks, they can still result in substantial financial loss, reputational damage, and data breaches for organizations. Therefore, implementing appropriate defensive measures, including designing secure conditional access policies, utilizing properly configured email security gateways, and applying the principle of least privilege, is essential throughout the organization.

6. What is your message to women in STEM and those who want to enter cybersecurity? How has your experience been so far?

To the women in STEM who want to enter cybersecurity, I’d say to avoid letting the fear of not having exactly the right background or perceived experience hold you back from exploring opportunities.

With how quickly the landscape changes, the hard skills required will continue to evolve. There is a vast need for talented people in the cybersecurity space to address the overwhelming challenges businesses face to reduce the risks from cyber-attacks.

It’s critical that we have diverse representation in the cybersecurity industry to be the best at minimizing the impact of bad actors. There is never a dull moment. I’ve found a career in cybersecurity to be both stimulating and fulfilling as we continue to evolve capabilities to address industry challenges.