Robert Thomas – Former CEO Infoblox and NetScreen – Joins Acreto Board
CUPERTINO, Calif., April 04, 2024- Robert Thomas, Silicon Valley veteran CEO who led both NetScreen Technologies and Infoblox from startup to IPO, has joined Acreto’s Board of Directors.
As a serial CEO, advisor and investor, Robert has been at the forefront of the network and security industry since the beginning of his career. Robert led both NetScreen Technologies and InfoBlox from startup to highly successful IPOs, with over $7 billion in total market valuation. Robert currently serves as an advisor to several VC funds, including Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.
“I’m impressed with Acreto’s vision, management team and execution. As compute, storage, access and application delivery have all moved to the cloud, security has just not adapted. That is because it’s hard. Acreto is the only technology I know of that has solved this problem in a meaningful way. They consolidate security across the hybrid infrastructure, all the while dramatically simplifying it,” said Robert Thomas. “I’m very much looking forward to what the future holds for Acreto.”
Robert brings 30 years of experience creating, building and managing profitable technology businesses to Acreto. As a key member of the Acreto Board of Directors, Robert will help support the company’s strategic direction and growth as Acreto fundamentally changes how the world’s most vulnerable systems are secured.
Acreto provides comprehensive, end-to-end security that eliminates the need for products and complex security operations. Acreto delivers a cost effective, simple platform that protects today’s complex hybrid infrastructure from the cloud. Acreto SASE+ Plus introduces unique patent-pending innovations, such as Secure Application & Data Interconnect (SADI), Nano-Segmentation, Network Wormholing and Ecosystem Security — offering capabilities well beyond traditional products or SASE providers.
“Robert’s insight and experience in building success, along with his ability to strategically connect complex dots is unparalleled in the industry. I am honored and excited to have Robert join Acreto and consider him both a mentor and a friend,” said Babak Pasdar, Acreto’s CEO.
Media Contact: Patricia Cucolo
patricia@acreto.io
About Acreto:
Acreto is the first cloud-delivered, end-to-end connectivity and security platform that can connect and protect any technology, on any network, anywhere. Acreto SASE+ Plus delivers Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionalities for access technologies such as devices, networks, IoT / OT and third-parties; while Acreto Secure Application and Data Interconnect (SADI) connects and protects application delivery infrastructure such as clouds, SaaS, data centers and co-locations. Acreto SASE+ Plus is SASE plus SADI — one platform with one interface from one provider for all of your technologies around the world.
Acreto Security Selected for UK Government’s LORCA Program
Acreto Security Selected from Companies Worldwide to Participate in LORCA’s Cohort 4
January 28, 2020, Jersey City: Acreto Security has been selected as a member of the LORCA (London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement) program – a UK government-backed program aimed at addressing today’s most complex cybersecurity challenges by identifying and accelerating the best of the best cybersecurity technologies to the global market.
“Securing the Internet-of-Everything is a completely unaddressed and critical problem that both the UK Government and LORCA commercial sponsors are focused on,” said LORCA Executive Board Member, Louise Cushnahan, who serves as the Head of Innovation Programs for Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for Security Information Technologies (CSIT). “We are working closely with other LORCA sponsors to identify and help scale companies with solutions to this challenge.”
LORCA was launched in 2018 with funding from the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to address critical cybersecurity needs. LORCA is delivered by Plexal, an innovation centre, along with delivery partners Deloitte and CSIT (the UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cybersecurity). It’s backed by corporate partners Lloyds Banking Group, Dell Technologies, the Global Cyber Alliance and Kudelski Security.
Businesses today utilize many technology platforms across multiple clouds, SaaS and data centers, with mobile and remote users utilizing myriad devices. Legacy security models are not designed to secure the new multi-party, multi-provider way we compute today. Acreto is the first platform that can protect any device, on any network, anywhere.
“We are delighted to have Acreto Security join LORCA’s group of select and highly-vetted companies. Our focus this year on Connected Everything led us to Acreto, which is tackling one of the most demanding challenges in cybersecurity today by securing distributed and mobile technologies,” said Saj Huq, LORCA’s Programme Director. “Our latest cohort is also a very international one, which demonstrates our aim of convening a diverse, collaborative and global cyber ecosystem.” LORCA member organizations are supported in numerous conventional and unconventional ways to accelerate their technologies to market including high-level introductions, access to industry notables in technology, strategy, marketing, legal and finance.
“Traditional network and on-device security approaches are no longer viable, especially for distributed and mobile environments,” said Babak Pasdar, Acreto’s Chief Executive Officer. “Acreto addresses this challenge with a unique and new model called Ecosystem security. This partnership with LORCA significantly enhances our access to strategic experts and expands our globalization capabilities.”
About Acreto: Acreto is the first Security-as-a-Utility platform that protects mobile and distributed IoT Ecosystems (devices, users, applications). The platform works for any device, on any network, anywhere. Acreto eliminates the need for multiple silo vendors by integrating all fundamental security functions in a single platform.
About LORCA: LORCA’s mission is to support the most promising cybersecurity innovators in scaling and growing solutions to meet the industry’s biggest challenges while building the UK’s international cybersecurity profile.
Media Contact:
Patricia Cucolo
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
patricia@acreto.io
Brian Harmon, Former Palo Alto Networks Sales VP, Joins Acreto
Brian Harmon, Senior Executive formerly with Trend Micro, Palo Alto Networks, Agari and Illusive, Joins Acreto Advisory Board
JERSEY CITY, N.J., February 26, 2019 (Newswire.com) –
Brian Harmon has spent the last 30 years as a senior sales and marketing executive building profitable growth in the security, technology services and telecommunications industries. Leading the charge at Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro, Agari, and Illusive Networks, Brian has a reputation for over-performance, building and leading exceptional sales teams, and steering go-to-market strategies.
“Having previously worked with Babak Pasdar, I am excited to rekindle a winning formula by joining the Acreto team,” said Harmon. “Acreto’s technology and approach to solving the vast areas of critical risk in IoT environments are simply elegant. From a cyber-security perspective, Acreto is uniquely purpose-built to encompass all threat vectors in a manageable way — one that traditional security just can’t address. It’s remarkable to see this level of innovation to further business-enable an already exploding IoT space.”
IoT technologies are slated to grow to 50 billion by 2021 — comparatively, this is six orders of magnitude larger than the ubiquitous mobile phone market. IoTs have also introduced a new compute dynamic known as “dependency compute,” where the owners of the IoT, its network, its dependent application and infrastructure as well as the IoT and application managers, may all be third-parties to one-another. Current security methods and tools are completely ineffective to protect this wholly new compute model.
“Brian’s expertise in developing and nurturing adoption for emerging technologies is unparalleled,” said Babak Pasdar, Acreto’s CEO and CTO. “I’m excited to be working with Brian again since those early days at Palo Alto Networks and thrilled to welcome him to Acreto. We look forward to benefiting from his profound knowledge and experience.”
IoTs have transformed how companies create, operate and sell, and are being embedded into anything and everything. However, hackers are actively exploiting these vulnerable devices because today’s legacy security tools are just not viable and cannot adapt to secure these highly distributed platforms. The Acreto team, with the addition of Brian Harmon, continues to rethink and innovate cyber-security that elegantly addresses the IoT security crisis.
Media Contact:
Patricia Cucolo
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
patricia@acreto.io
About Acreto
Acreto is the first cloud-delivered, end-to-end connectivity and security platform that can connect and protect any technology, on any network, anywhere. Acreto SASE +Plus delivers Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionalities for access technologies such as devices, networks, IoT / OT and third-parties; while Acreto Secure Application and Data Interconnect (SADI) connects and protects application delivery infrastructure such as clouds, SaaS, data centers and co-locations. Acreto SASE +Plus is SASE plus SADI — one platform with one interface from one provider for all of your technologies around the world. Learn more at https://acreto.io or @acretoio.
Former CIA Chief Technology Officer Bob Flores Joins Acreto Advisory Board
After 31 years of protecting the CIA’s most sensitive information, Bob Flores brings his expertise to Acreto.
Jersey City, New Jersey, August 28, 2018 – Bob Flores, former Chief Technology Officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, has joined award-winning startup Acreto IoT Security’s Advisory Board. Flores is working closely with Acreto’s management team to build the most advanced security platform for the world’s most vulnerable systems – Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, especially those using Crypto / Blockchain. Blockchain and IoT, individually and together, represent the fastest growing technology segments. They are vulnerable and current security technologies are ineffective.
Flores spent 31 years serving six presidents from Carter to Obama in a variety of roles at the Directorate of Intelligence, the National Clandestine Service, and the CIA’s Office of the CIO.
“Throughout my career at the CIA, we solved complex challenges by applying reliable and effective approaches and technologies. Even if it meant creating them ourselves. Though Crypto-IoT addresses several problems, it also creates completely new challenges. Today, Crypto-IoT has globally distributed exposure points numbering in the billions and growing. A complete rethinking of cyber-security is needed for IoTs,” said Bob Flores. “Acreto’s innovative rethinking of security for this new challenge is nothing short of impressive. I’m very much looking forward to contributing to a great team.”
Crypto and IoT technologies bring an unparalleled technology dynamic that has created the greatest cyber-security challenge known to date.
“Bob is experienced at the toughest security job on the planet – defending the U.S. from the world’s most motivated and well-funded bad actors. He brings the same critical thinking and leadership he applied to global challenges like the cold war and war on terror, to Acreto,” said Babak Pasdar, Acreto’s CEO and CTO. “It is our great honor and privilege to welcome Bob to the Acreto team.”
Crypto-IoT platforms are being embedded into everything from supply chains to entire industries and economies. Today’s legacy security cannot adapt to secure these highly distributed platforms. Acreto, with the addition of Bob Flores, continues to rethink and innovative cyber-security that elegantly addresses the Crypto-IoT challenge.
Media Contact:
Patricia Cucolo
Manager, Marketing & Public Relations
patricia@acreto.io
About Acreto:
Acreto is the first cloud-delivered, end-to-end connectivity and security platform that can connect and protect any technology, on any network, anywhere. Acreto SASE +Plus delivers Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionalities for access technologies such as devices, networks, IoT / OT and third-parties; while Acreto Secure Application and Data Interconnect (SADI) connects and protects application delivery infrastructure such as clouds, SaaS, data centers and co-locations. Acreto SASE +Plus is SASE plus SADI — one platform with one interface from one provider for all of your technologies around the world. Learn more at https://acreto.io or @acretoio.
Blockchain Security Fallacy
The industry portrays that Blockchain will solve the world’s woes. Legacy companies like IBM, HP and Dell are touting Blockchain as the cure-all for anything and everything. In fact, the ‘Blockchain as a security savior’ message is so ubiquitously promoted and repeated, it has become an accepted fact. For many, Blockchain is not just secure – Blockchain IS security. Blockchain Security has created a market pivot and is the latest in security.
We’re here to tell you its not. Here’s why:
Crypto technologies and its variances such as Blockchain were designed to fulfill the following capacity as…
Denomination
Blockchain functions as crypto-currency, with a specific market value
Transaction Processing
Blockchain exists as a denomination-independent way to process financial transactions — similar to a credit card
Data Validation
Blockchain validates and verifies non-financial transactions and content
Blockchain provides a decentralized way to process and validate transactions. This is done over public networks while the transacting parties and the processing parties maintain their anonymity. Once the transaction is validated, it is documented in a public ledger shared across many systems. These make up the Blockchain network.
Business applications are built on multiple components. These include endpoints, systems, hardware, programs and data-sets, all of which have exposure points, referred to as an attack surface. Application platforms that use Blockchain are no exception. Though Blockchain is not susceptible to manipulation or fraud while in transit, it does nothing to secure the multiple attack surfaces and associated vulnerabilities of the platform components. In other words there is no such thing as Blockchain security.
This means the endpoints, servers, applications and clouds that make up the platform remain vulnerable. A compromise of any of these systems could allow the attacker to forge seemingly legitimate Blockchain transactions. The end result? A transaction that appears to be made by an authorized user and endpoint which is processed by an authorized application. Blockchain is incapable of offering any protection in this scenario.
So what drives the industry to tout Blockchain Security?
Even though proper cyber-security requires multiple functions (ie: identity, controls, privacy and threat management among others) to protect the entire application platform, Blockchain is limited to ensuring the integrity of the transactions. Without the implementation of other security functions, the entire platform remains exposed and vulnerable.
Blockchain protects the transaction in a very limited and granular way. Yet large swaths of the industry believe it is a new way to secure entire technology platforms!
No doubt, this is an undesirable byproduct of marketing departments gone wild. In their clamor to “simplify” the complex nature of Blockchain, they have managed to confuse, convolute and even misdirect. It’s like paypal claiming that they protect your bank account.
There are many benefits to using Blockchain as a denomination, for financial transaction processing or non-financial data validation. But the sooner the industry is clear about the practical application of Blockchain, the more confidently it can be used in business applications. With that, Blockchain’s growing use in real business applications can even stabilize the turbulent and unpredictable coin markets.
About Acreto:
Acreto is the first cloud-delivered, end-to-end connectivity and security platform that can connect and protect any technology, on any network, anywhere. Acreto SASE +Plus delivers Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionalities for access technologies such as devices, networks, IoT / OT and third-parties; while Acreto Secure Application and Data Interconnect (SADI) connects and protects application delivery infrastructure such as clouds, SaaS, data centers and co-locations. Acreto SASE +Plus is SASE plus SADI — one platform with one interface from one provider for all of your technologies around the world.
Acreto Awarded NJTC’s Best Tech Company 2018
IoT Security Startup Acreto Named 2018 Tech Company of the Year
Acreto takes New Jersey Technology Council top honors for its cloud-based platform designed to secure crypto-based IoT Ecosystems.
Jersey City, New Jersey, April 16, 2018 — Acreto IoT Security, a Cloud platform startup that secures Crypto-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) Ecosystems, was voted Best Technology Company at the New Jersey Tech Council’s 18th annual Venture Conference. After presenting their security platform at the conference last week, Acreto was singled out among hundreds of technology companies in the areas of technology innovation, leadership and the market challenges addressed.
“The NJTC would like to offer its sincere congratulations to the Acreto team for their unique and thoughtful approach that addresses a significant challenge.” Said James Barrood, President and CEO of the NJTC. “Security is a hot issue, especially for technologies slated to make up much of our nation’s critical infrastructure. Thoughtful and effective security is a necessity, as we embrace digital transformation. Since the age of Thomas Edison, New Jersey has been a center of innovation excellence. Companies like Acreto IoT Security carry on that tradition.”
Mobile phones are ubiquitous today with an estimated 8 billion saturating the market. Comparatively, IoTs are on track to dwarf the mobile phone market, hitting 50 billion devices within the next three years alone. These IoT technologies and devices are non-standard, so you can’t just run today’s desktop or network security tools to protect them. From door locks to pacemakers to cooling valves in a nuclear plant, these devices have crept into our organizations and into our lives. Shielding these unprotected IoTs from danger isn’t just avoiding inconvenience, its a necessity. Today, even an unsecured, Internet-connected water heater or cable box can be used for massive cyber attacks, as was witnessed by a recent IoT-driven attack, resulting in the Internet’s largest cyber-offensive known to-date.
“It’s critically important to address this security problem effectively and elegantly. Our team worked extraordinarily hard to develop such an urgently needed technology, and we look forward to securing billions of vulnerable IoT devices and applications,” said Thad Eidman, Acreto IoT Security’s COO. “We are thrilled to receive this award and proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with so many creative and entrepreneurial companies.”
Acreto was founded by a team of technology industry veterans who have collectively founded five successful startups in the cloud security space and created three new Gartner categories.
IoTs are rapidly finding their way into every organization and everyday life, and They utilize Crypto to facilitate payments, process financial transactions as well as perform data validation functions. Traditional security tools are just not able to protect today’s IoT Ecosystems. Acreto IoT Security is the first global platform to provide a meaningful, sustainable and elegant security solution for vulnerable Crypto-IoT Ecosystems.
Media Contact:
Patricia Cucolo
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
patricia@acreto.io
About Acreto:
Acreto is the first cloud-delivered, end-to-end connectivity and security platform that can connect and protect any technology, on any network, anywhere. Acreto SASE +Plus delivers Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionalities for access technologies such as devices, networks, IoT / OT and third-parties; while Acreto Secure Application and Data Interconnect (SADI) connects and protects application delivery infrastructure such as clouds, SaaS, data centers and co-locations. Acreto SASE +Plus is SASE plus SADI — one platform with one interface from one provider for all of your technologies around the world.