Hannu Turri, cloud security architect, is an integral part of the InfoSec team at WashU. Hannu comes to us from Finland, where he first served in the military and transitioned into IT, working as a CISO. After attending an AWS re:Invent event in Las Vegas, where he met his future wife a few years ago, he moved to St. Louis and landed at WashU!
Hannu’s first experience with coding was with Commodore 64, where he found his love for “solving problems and being creative with computers.” Early on, he found information security and enjoyed the challenges of this exciting field. In his current role, Hannu steers secure cloud-optimized architectures, contributing to WashU’s architecture governance. He collaborates with researchers and coworkers on the Solutions and Architecture team to deliver complete security architecture solutions. Hannu adds to a list of Finnish architects, including Eero Saarinen, a Finnish architect who designed the St. Louis Arch.
Hannu believes information security is a business enabler and competitive advantage that can be achieved by simplifying security processes by providing usable security solutions. His passion for the field is amplified by “empowering individuals to develop exceptional services securely, going beyond mere compliance and asset protection.” He notes that he possesses a Finnish characteristic called ‘Sisu,’ “a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination that manifests itself when all hope is lost.” He approaches every challenge with tenacity and an “unwavering resilience and drive to succeed.”
Hannu striving to keep things simple doesn’t just stop at security. He discovered the art of ‘minimalism’ 10 years ago. He says that decluttering allowed him to make room for things he enjoyed. When he moved to the US, he only had two suitcases, living by the saying, “Love people and use things because the opposite never works.” In addition to that, Hannu strives to learn something new every day, using a tool called Obsidian to take atomic notes that support everyday learning. If you’d like to use this tool to learn about InfoSec, Hannu recommends these resources for maintaining your privacy, checking for malware, and writeups about offensive security!
When Hannu isn’t working to create simple security solutions on the InfoSec team, he enjoys running, hiking, listening to audiobooks, coding, and building his home computer lab. He also enjoys playing CSGO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) and VR games on Linux. Even when he is not working, he likes to practice his offensive security skills using Hack the Box.