WAIPAHU, Hawaii — It hasn’t always been easy for Christine Lanning to make a name for herself in the security industry, and not just because she’s married to the co-founder of Integrated Security Technologies (IST). But she has persevered for decades and carved out quite a career for herself.
You haven’t heard the last of IST president Christine Lanning in security circles, that’s for sure.
Here she is in her own words as part of our ongoing celebration of International Women’s History Month.
Security Sales & Integration: How did you get into the security industry?
Christine Lanning: I took a job at an alarm company and met (husband and 2024 SSI Industry Hall of Famer) Andrew (Lanning) there. Subsequently, we started IST to focus on network-based security integration projects.
SSI: Have you encountered any difficulties or obstacles in your security industry career?
Lanning: As with any career, yes. When I first started going to ISC West in the early 2000s, it wasn’t unusual to be ignored at the booths or be talked to like I didn’t understand technology. I have a masters degree in information systems and I’m a technologist at heart.
SSI: Whom would you point to as the most influential and helpful mentors in your career? What did they do to help you?
Lanning: Andrew Lanning has been the most influential and helpful in my career. I would have never been a part of starting IST if it wasn’t for Andrew. Several others come to mind: Bill Bozeman (formerly CEO of PSA Network), Eric Yunag (formerly president and CEO of Dakota Security Systems) and Ron Oetjen (formerly senior vice president of Securadyne).
SSI: What is your proudest career accomplishment?
Lanning: Making 10 Years of Best Places to Work. To be named to Best Places to Work, you have to survey your employees. All employees must respond to the survey and they all must rate you high enough to make it. Making 10 Years of Best Places to work in Hawaii says a lot about our culture and work environment and that is extremely important to me.
SSI: What do you love most about working in the security industry?
Lanning: The security industry is noble. At the end of the day, we are protecting lives and we use great technology to do that.
SSI: How can the security industry become even better?
Lanning: The next five years will be revolutionary for our industry as the old ways of doing things die out and new ways prove reliable. I think continuing to focus on technology utilizing artificial intelligence can make our industry better, but we’ve got to handle that technology with greater responsibility than we’ve done with our software in the past.
Click here to read our entire Women in Security Q&A series!
