Embedding Ethics into Infrastructure: Cybersecurity Playbook for Global Tech

By Tosin Clegg

In large technology organizations, cybersecurity is often seen as the domain of IT architects, engineers, and compliance officers. But Diana Ussher-Eke’s tenure at IBM and Samsung reveals another truth—culture, clarity, and accountability are just as vital as encryption and infrastructure. Through her work leading HR functions across IBM’s Central, East, and West Africa region and Samsung’s West Africa business, Ussher-Eke helped reframe cybersecurity from a technical safeguard to a leadership standard.

IBM’s footprint in Africa spans over 20 countries, providing critical infrastructure and software solutions to public and private sector clients. With sensitive operations and regional complexity, cybersecurity risks were significant—not just externally but internally, through staff, contractors, and service partners. As the project lead for IBM’s HR Management System rollout across 36 MEA countries, Ussher-Eke took a deliberate stance: data governance and access protocols must be designed into people systems from the outset, not added on later.

That meant implementing role-based access reviews that linked system permissions directly to job functions. When roles changed, access changed. When projects ended, permissions were revoked. By integrating IT governance into HR workflows, she closed one of the most common gaps in enterprise cybersecurity: dormant or misaligned access rights.

Her approach was replicated at Samsung, where she served as Head of HR for West Africa. Here, the challenge was different. The company operated in a hierarchical, engineering-driven culture, where compliance was often top-down and participation passive. Ussher-Eke shifted the narrative. She promoted cybersecurity as a shared value, embedded in organizational ethics and reinforced through leadership behavior.

Cybersecurity training was introduced not as a checkbox, but as a reflection of professionalism. New joiners, managers, and vendors were oriented not only on policies but also on purpose—why digital discipline mattered in the context of the company’s strategic goals and regional risk exposures. This included promoting secure device use, password protocols, and reporting pathways for digital anomalies.

A particularly notable intervention was the extension of HR protocols to contractors and third-party vendors. In tech ecosystems, these actors often work inside the core system without going through the same compliance frameworks as employees. Ussher-Eke insisted on uniform standards—ensuring that every person with access, regardless of employment classification, was trained and held accountable.

Just as important was the creation of psychological safety. Ussher-Eke worked to build environments where staff could raise concerns, report phishing attempts, or admit lapses without fear of retribution. In global firms with layered reporting structures, this openness is a rare but essential defense mechanism. It turns every team member into a sensor for emerging threats.

Her work also touched executive engagement. She encouraged senior leaders to model best practices—not only during cyber drills but in daily behavior. This included secure file sharing, sensitivity to mobile device risks, and timely closure of dormant accounts. Culture, she believed, was the infrastructure that supported technology—and without it, even the most advanced systems could be compromised.

In today’s hyperconnected world, where even a single credential leak can ripple across continents, her work serves as a case study in responsible, people-first cybersecurity leadership. Her methods are not flashy, but they are resilient. And in security, resilience matters more than spectacle.

As more global tech companies seek to build secure, ethical growth models in emerging markets, Diana Ussher-Eke’s HR-led approach should be seen as best practice—not exception. Her legacy across IBM and Samsung proves that culture is not soft—it is infrastructure. And infrastructure, when built right, can withstand even the most sophisticated threatBy embedding cyber risk management into leadership development, workforce planning, and contractor governance, Ussher-Eke helped transform cybersecurity from a reactive IT function into a proactive business enabler. Her HR-led model offered IBM and Samsung resilience, accountability, and adaptability—qualities increasingly vital in today’s interconnected tech landscape.

For global tech firms expanding across emerging markets, the lesson is clear. Policies may originate from headquarters, but practice lives in the field. And unless cybersecurity is understood, accepted, and owned by people at every level, it remains incomplete. Diana Ussher-Eke’s legacy across IBM and Samsung offers a grounded, actionable template for making cybersecurity a leadership norm—not just a compliance item.