Christopher Budd is a communications manager with Trend Micro. His focus is on communications around online security and privacy threats to help people understand in plain English the risks they face and what they can do about them. In addition, he focuses on managing crisis communications utilizing a framework and processes he helped put in place.
Prior to Trend Micro, Christopher worked as an independent consultant focused on helping clients build crisis communications frameworks for online security and privacy incidents. Christopher draws on his experience as a ten-year veteran of the Microsoft Corporation, where he oversaw and managed worldwide internal and external communications around security and privacy incidents affecting Microsoft customers. During his tenure at Microsoft, he pioneered new strategies and tactics embracing new media technologies that dramatically improved the handling of communications around incidents and helped, as he likes to say, “make awful news just bad”.
Christopher is a seasoned spokesperson and speaker and presenter. He has been an expert on television and radio numerous times. At Microsoft he led a live monthly security webcast for over six years. He has also given numerous presentations on communications and technology at a variety of technology and non-technology conferences.
Christopher is a widely published author on technology and other topics. He currently contributes a monthly column on Social Media and Online Security to the Windmilll Networking blog as well as regular contributions to Geekwire and Betanews. He is a regular presence on Trend Micro’s blogs for security experts and consumers. He has been a monthly columnist for TechTarget on Microsoft security issues. He is also co-author of two books. Outside of technology topics, he has authored numerous articles on topics ranging from history to philosophy and gaming and is a contributing author to a book on the history of philosophy.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion from Oberlin College and a Master of Arts in Philosophy with honors from St. John’s College.
His interests include music, history, psychology, mythology, and comparative religion. You can read his personal blogs at christopherbudd.com, Andante, and Taklamakan. He lives outside of Seattle with his family, including four cats and a dog.