# Taimur Ijlal

> Taimur Ijlal is a cloud and AI security leader with 20+ years of international experience, currently serving as a Senior Security Consultant at AWS. Known as 'Cloud Security Guy,' he runs a popular Substack newsletter, YouTube channel, and Udemy courses reaching 80,000+ professionals. A CISO of the Year 2019 winner in the UAE, LinkedIn Top Voice in Cybersecurity, and UK Global Talent Visa 'Exceptional Talent' recipient, Taimur has authored multiple books on cybersecurity careers, certifications, and AI governance. He is recognized for making complex cloud and AI security topics accessible through practical, real-world teaching.

- **Role:** Senior Security Consultant at AWS
- **Organizations:** AWS, Network International (former), Cloud Security Guy
- **Nationality:** British (based in UK)
- **Known for:** CISO of the Year 2019 - UAE, CISO Top 30 - UAE, CISO Top 50 - UAE

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2019** — Head of Information Security at major companies in the Middle East, including fintech sector
- **2019** — Won CISO of the Year - UAE award; established Network International's Cloud Security Practice
- **2021** — Launched Cloud Security Guy YouTube channel (December 2021)
- **2021-2022** — Built Udemy course catalog reaching 69,000+ students
- **2022** — Started Cloud Security Guy newsletter on Substack
- **2023** — Published multiple books including Zero Trust Security for Beginners and NIST AI RMF Masterclass
- **2024** — Joined AWS as Senior Security Consultant; received UK Global Talent Visa Exceptional Talent award
- **2025** — Published The Secure Vibe Coding Handbook; reached 80K+ professionals across platforms
- **2026** — Hosting AWS Well Architected Enterprise series events in Manchester (April 1) and Dublin (April 9)

## Achievements

- CISO of the Year 2019 - UAE
- CISO Top 30 - UAE
- CISO Top 50 - UAE
- Most Outstanding Security Team - UAE
- Best Application Security Program - UAE
- LinkedIn Top Voice in Cybersecurity
- UK Global Talent Visa 'Exceptional Talent' recipient
- 80,000+ professionals taught across platforms
- 69,000+ Udemy students
- 6,700+ Substack newsletter subscribers
- Published 7+ books on cybersecurity topics
- Published in ISACA journal and CIO Magazine Middle East
- YouTube video 'Why Your Cybersecurity Job May Not Exist in 5 Years' garnered 20,000+ views and 925 new subscribers in 14 days

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Hosting AWS Well Architected Enterprise series events in Manchester (April 1) and Dublin (April 9) with AI and the Future Developer as the core theme
- **2025-12** — Published The Secure Vibe Coding Handbook, a guide for building tools and SaaS products securely
- **2025** — Reached milestone of 80,000+ professionals taught across all platforms

## Links

- Website: https://cloudsecurityguy.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/taimurijlal
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/CloudSecurityG2
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/cloudsecurityguy

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/taimur-ijlal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-20