About

Twice immigrant. Four kids.
One snowboard.

Born in the USSR, raised in Israel, rebuilt in Canada — a security career built by doing, not by degree.

Evgeniy Kharam is a cybersecurity architect, advisor, and author who helps technical teams turn complex security work into clear business outcomes.

As Chief Strategy Officer at Discern Security — an AI-driven security management platform — he helps organizations strengthen their cyber posture through actionable visibility, control optimization, and clear, executive-level storytelling.

He spent 16 years at Herjavec Group (now Cyderes), from 2006 to 2022 — joining when it was a roughly 16-person company and helping grow it to 400 — rising from firewall deployment engineer to team lead, to running professional services, to architect and VP of Cybersecurity Solution Architecture, with more than 40,000 hours of pre- and post-sales architecture work for organizations from 500 to 100,000 employees.

In 2022 he founded EK Cyber & Media Consulting, advising vendors, VARs, and MSSPs on go-to-market strategy and product-market fit, conducting M&A and investment cybersecurity due diligence, and serving as a virtual CISO and a technical voice on panels and keynotes.

His earlier career includes QA on one of the world's first next-generation firewalls at Check Point Software in Israel, and five years in the Israeli Navy as a cybersecurity engineer. Born in what is now Ukraine, raised in Israel, and rebuilt in Canada after immigrating at 27, he earned his reputation without a formal cyber degree — by doing the work.

He is the author of Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical Sales, a TEDx speaker, co-host of the Security Architecture and Cyber Inspiration podcasts — 200+ episodes and 90,000+ downloads — co-founder of the Ski & Snowboard CyberSecurity Conference, and a board advisor to the Canadian Cybersecurity Network. A father of four (including twins), a snowboarder, and a photographer who documented Robert Herjavec's Ferrari racing, his throughline stays the same: it's always about the people.

Evgeniy Kharam headshot
Based in
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Origin
Ukraine (former USSR) → Israel → Canada
Military
5 yrs Israeli Navy (cyber)
Family
Father of 4, incl. twins
Outside
Snowboard, hike, cycle, photo
Founded
EK Cyber & Media Consulting (2022)
Studying
IFS, psychology, performance
Belief
"It's always about the people"

There's no fluff here. Evgeniy has distilled an entire career's worth of learning into a practical and highly actionable guide.

Kevin Magee · Chief Security Officer, Microsoft Canada
Kind words

What leaders say

There's no fluff here. Evgeniy has distilled an entire career's worth of learning into a practical and highly actionable guide.

Kevin MageeChief Security Officer, Microsoft Canada

The only approach that works in the world of 0s and 1s — it's all about the people. A master thesis on what's needed to thrive.

Mike SkurkoFounder, PRE Consulting

Strikes a rare balance between personal improvement and IT security that I've never seen before. I'd recommend it to every IT leader.

Neil K. JonesDir. Cybersecurity Evangelism, Egnyte

A goldmine for anyone navigating the turbulent waters of sales — practical advice, updated tactics, and real anecdotes.

Eldon SprickerhoffFounder, eSentire
Career & credentials
2025 – Present
Chief Strategy Officer
Discern Security — AI-driven security management
Executive
2022 – Present
Founder
EK Cyber & Media Consulting — vendor/MSSP advisory, vCISO, M&A due diligence
Founder
2025
TEDx Speaker
Communication & cybersecurity culture
Speaker
2024
Architecting Success (Bestseller)
Published Author
Author
2022 – Present
Founder & Host, Cyber Inspiration Podcast
200+ episodes · 90K+ downloads across both shows
Media
2020 – 2024
Co-Founder & Host, Security Architecture Podcast
Co-hosted with Dmitry Raidman · technical deep dives
Media
2019 – Present
Cybersecurity Startup Advisor
Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst
Advisory
Annual
Co-Founder, Ski & Snowboard CyberSecurity Conf
~200 attendees + Bikes & Hikes
Founder
Ongoing
Board Advisor — Canadian Cybersecurity Network
Canada's largest tech professional group
Advisory
2006 – 2022
Firewall Engineer → Team Lead → Professional Services → VP of Cybersecurity Solution Architecture
Herjavec Group (now Cyderes) — 16 years, grew 16 → 400 people
Executive
2001 – 2006
QA — early NGFW (R57/R60)
Check Point Software, Israel
Technical
1996 – 2001
Cybersecurity Engineer
Israeli Navy
Military