ATLANTA and Black Hat USA, July 17, 2012 – Lancope, Inc., a leader in flow-based security and network performance monitoring, has announced the appointment of network security expert Tom Cross as director of research. With 13 years of experience in enterprise security and threat research, Cross will help to ensure that Lancope is continually evolving its StealthWatch System to remain at the cutting edge of network protection.
“As the threat landscape evolves at a dangerously rapid pace, security vendors must ensure that they are continuously innovating their solutions and expanding their knowledge base to provide customers with the best possible protection from online attackers,” said Mike Potts, president and CEO of Lancope. “We are excited to have Tom join our organization and are confident that his widely recognized expertise in security research will significantly strengthen both our team and our product offerings.”
Prior to joining Lancope, Cross was part of the IBM X-Force Advanced Research team, where he served as both a researcher and manager over the course of nine years, identifying, analyzing and mitigating computer security vulnerabilities. Previously, he held the roles of director of global security engineering for Internet service provider iAsiaWorks and senior network security engineer for Dataway, a provider of network security managed services.
Cross is credited with discovering a number of critical security vulnerabilities in enterprise-class software, and has written papers on various topics including security issues in Internet routers, securing wireless LANs and protecting Wikipedia from vandalism. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and frequently speaks on security issues at conferences around the world including Black Hat and DEF CON. Those interested can follow him at http://www.lancope.com/blog/author/tcross/.
“As governments and enterprises fight to stave off the next generation of network attacks – from APTs to the insider threat – they are seeking new, innovative solutions to supplement their status quo security measures,” said Cross. “Flow-based monitoring provides a unique perspective into network activity for detecting and thwarting these advanced attacks, and I look forward to working with the Lancope team as we continuously enhance the StealthWatch System to address tomorrow’s threats and challenges.”
Lancope’s StealthWatch System collects and analyzes NetFlow, IPFIX and other types of flow data to provide end-to-end visibility across enterprise networks. Not relying on signature updates to detect attacks, the system can uncover the full spectrum of risks facing today’s organizations – from APTs to insider threats such as policy violations, network misuse and data leakage. In addition to protecting many of the Global 2000 and hundreds of government agencies around the world, StealthWatch also makes up a key component of the Cisco Cyber Threat Defense Solution.
Tom Cross and others from Lancope will be attending Black Hat USA taking place in Las Vegas from July 21-26, where Lancope will exhibit its StealthWatch System at Booth #336.
