Formeer RSA president and former US-CERT cyber chief to take the helm at one of cybersecurity’s fastest-growing companies
Tenable Network Security announced that Amit Yoran will become the company’s chairman and CEO effective Jan. 3, 2017. Yoran said, “Tenable is one of the most innovative companies in security, and is leading the evolution of vulnerability management into a next-generation technology that addresses some of the most important and fundamental security challenges of today. Over the course of my career, I’ve met with thousands of IT and business leaders from organizations of all types, from around the world. One thing they all have in common is their concern about IT security and risk. They need solutions that help them understand their level of exposure and address the mounting challenges as they adopt technologies like cloud, DevOps, containers and IoT that can radically expand their attack surfaces. I believe Tenable is among the best-positioned companies to transform security for customers in the evolving landscape.”
Yoran joins Tenable after serving as president of RSA, where he has been responsible for the over $1 billion-in-revenue company’s strategic vision and direction. Yoran joined RSA via the acquisition of network forensics leader NetWitness, a high-growth company he founded and led as CEO. Prior to NetWitness, Yoran served as founding director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) program in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also was founder and CEO of Riptech, which was one of the first managed security service providers (MSSP) and was acquired by Symantec in 2002. Yoran serves as a board member and adviser to a number of security startups.
Tenable co-founders Jack Huffard and Renaud Deraison, who have been leading the company during the CEO search, will continue in their roles as president and chief operating officer (COO), and chief technology officer, respectively.
“We’ve been aggressive about continuously innovating our product offering so our customers have the most comprehensive vulnerability management available,” said Huffard. “But our customers – and the industry as a whole – see us as more than a vendor. They know Tenable as a security thought leader, technology innovator and trusted partner in an increasingly complex threat landscape. We are excited to announce that Amit will lead Tenable as we continue to deliver on our vision of true next-generation security.”
“When we started Tenable, our goal was to build the best vulnerability management solution on the planet, and we’re confident that Amit is the right choice to lead us on the next phase of our journey,” said Deraison. “As enterprise IT environments are shifting to the cloud and thus becoming more complex, our customers are increasingly relying on Tenable to get clarity on their security exposure and to make their security decisions efficient and impactful. Amit’s deep security experience and entrepreneurial spirit are a perfect match for the DNA of our company.”
With the broadest data collection capabilities in the market, Tenable serves more than one million end users and more than 20,000 customers worldwide. These companies rely on Tenable and its next-generation approach to security to continuously monitor IT environments for vulnerabilities and simplify cybersecurity operations through data-driven intelligence.
Yoran’s appointment as Tenable CEO comes at a time of accelerated growth and international expansion during which the company has increased billings by more than 40 percent and broadened its global footprint to a total of 20 countries. Tenable has also earned numerous industry awards and distinctions, including those from SC Magazine, the SANS Institute, Frost & Sullivan, AusCERT and NetworkWorld Asia. In October, the company announced its first acquisition with the purchase of San Francisco-based container security company Flawcheck. Tenable was also one of only two pure-play cybersecurity software companies named to the 2016 Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups list. Last year the company announced a $230 million Series B investment led by Insight Venture Partners and Accel.
