Cyber Defense Magazine honors Keyavi’s breakthrough self-protecting data security technology and three executives in multiple categories
#BHUSA #CybersecResilience
DENVER – August 2, 2021 Keyavi Data Corp., an award-winning cybersecurity trailblazer whose game-changing technology is stopping ransomware criminals in their tracks and transforming the very nature of the data security industry, announced today that it won four prestigious Black Unicorn awards at Black Hat’s annual conference in Las Vegas.
Keyavi received the Top 10 Cybersecurity Startup award, company Co-founder and CEO Elliot Lewis was honored as a Top 10 Cybersecurity Expert, its Chief Information Security Officer T.J. Minichillo as a Top 10 CISO and Co-founder and Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Jocelyn King among the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity.
The ninth annual Cyber Defense Magazine Black Unicorn awards showcase the companies and leaders at the forefront of global security technology innovation. Keyavi and its executives competed against more than 3,600 of the hottest providers of cybersecurity products and services in one of the industry’s most prestigious global competitions.
“Keyavi Data, Elliot Lewis, T.J Minichillo and Jocelyn King are among a small, elite group of companies and experts selected to win these Top 10 awards,” said judges Robert R. Ackerman Jr. of www.allegiscyber.com, David DeWalt of www.nightdragon.com, Dr. Peter Stephenson of Cyber Defense Labs and Gary Miliefsky of www.cyberdefensemediagroup.com. The judges evaluated the most innovative firms and individuals solving tomorrow’s cyber threats today, those making a huge difference in turning the tide against the massive growth in cyber crime as well improving the cybersecurity industry as a whole.
“My team and I are thrilled to have been selected for all four Black Unicorn awards,” said Elliot Lewis. “We’re going where no other company has gone before – protecting any type of data – anywhere, anytime, under any circumstance in the world – from cyber criminals and accidental loss. In the process, we’re rewriting the cyber industry’s rules for data security and driving meaningful change to help people everywhere control their own data’s destiny. That’s a mission we as a company are passionate about and to which we are all deeply committed.”
Black Unicorn Awards for Top 10 Cybersecurity Startups & Top 10 Cybersecurity Experts
Elliot, an internationally acclaimed cybersecurity pioneer, and Keyavi Data, the company he co-founded last year, were honored for breakthrough, one-of-a-kind technology that makes every piece of data so intelligent that it automatically thinks and protects itself, wherever it goes in the world. It is the only company to have not only reached, but surpassed, a previously unattainable goal for universal data security. And, until now, no one else has successfully delivered anything close to this technology.
After years helping secure some of the biggest Fortune companies in the world, Elliot realized data was the one constant in a complex, continually evolving IT ecosystem. Even if stored behind a multitude of layered defenses, he reasoned, data remained defenseless against would-be criminals intent on stealing it. So, he set out to simplify this amorphous IT ecosystem into one self-protecting, self-intelligent object – data itself.
Despite skeptics in the IT industry who refused to believe data itself could be the centerpoint of all security, Elliot persisted for nearly 10 years in developing and launching Keyavi’s disruptive self-protecting, intelligent and self-aware data security technology. Today, the company’s API platform and a full suite of applications riding on that platform enable Keyavi-infused data to think for itself, secure itself, continually report its whereabouts and refuse access to unauthorized users. It also allows data to stay under its owner’s control – in perpetuity – no matter who has it, where it’s stored or how many copies were made.
This technology is so revolutionary that it’s stopping cyber criminals in their tracks, including ransomware attackers.
“Data security shouldn’t be about putting up sky-high walls to stave off hordes of attackers,” Elliot Said. “Those walls, no matter how high or how thick, won’t defend against adversaries who manage with greater frequency and sophistication to penetrate networks and steal data without anyone detecting the intrusion, sometimes for years.”
“Nor should data security be about piling on more tools onto your tech stack in the hopes of making your business more secure. Solving the problem of leaky data right from the get-go requires completely rethinking your strategy for securing data. True cyber resilience is about helping a business grow by providing visibility into how data is used, how it interacts with your customers, your ecosystem and operations. Instead of data being a business risk, it should be a contributor to business growth.”
By making the impossible possible, Elliot proved the skeptics wrong. And, in the process, we can all sleep better at night, knowing data is safe and secure, everywhere and anywhere it travels.
Experience the power of Keyavi’s technology for yourself at a live webinar or request a trial here.
Black Unicorn Award for Top 10 CISOs
As a nationally renowned cybersecurity and threat intelligence expert recognized the world over, there is no cyber threat that T.J. hasn’t seen, fought against or helped remediate during more than 25 years of tracking cyber criminals. The Black Unicorn judges recognized T.J. for his deep expertise, vigilance and lifelong commitment to developing, implementing and maintaining the highest level of security processes, regulatory compliance and defenses for safeguarding data assets against evolving cyber threats and risks.
T.J.’s formidable career and expertise managing security operations and cyber investigations span strategic intelligence roles on Wall Street, Fortune 100 financial services companies, the military, energy and technology startups. During his distinguished career as a chief threat intelligence officer (CTIO) and threat intelligence expert, he led multiple security operations, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, penetration testing and Red Teams. He’s built fusion centers with specialized threat hunting groups and managed high-level threat-hunting initiatives. He is also an expert at conducting regulatory and policy assessments and aligning those policies with industry best practices. An enthusiastic proponent of training the next generation of security leaders and espousing security best practices for mitigating cyber risks, T.J. actively participated in and contributed his expertise to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence-sponsored Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft Project, which is designed to promote the cyber threat intelligence profession across the U.S. National Critical Infrastructure and the creation of higher education degree programs in threat intelligence.
At Keyavi, T.J. is responsible for overseeing the ongoing evaluation, testing and monitoring of security controls to protect the company, its customers and third-party suppliers against an ever-evolving and widening cyber threat landscape. He also manages Keyavi’s security operations, threat & vulnerability system, cloud security, application security, policy enforcement and user training and awareness initiatives.
“Data breaches, phishing scams and ransomware attacks touch every aspect of modern life,” T.J. says. “The fallout from these cyber crimes equates not only to lost company sales and revenue but loss of critical intellectual property being exfiltrated and sold to the highest bidder on the dark web, negotiated for ransom or exposed publicly to cause brand or reputational damage.
“Security should never be viewed as a business ‘blocker’ but as an enabler, supporting business processes and workflows in ways that boost productivity, growth and revenue. I’m fortunate to be a CISO at Keyavi, where game-changing data security breakthroughs are redefining the future of a far safer data environment for everyone.”
Black Unicorn Award for Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity
Jocelyn is a “mover, shaker and glass-ceiling breaker” with exceptional business leadership, a deep dedication to fighting cybercrime, and a lifelong commitment to raising awareness of cybersecurity and technology career opportunities and advancement for women.
With 20 years of Silicon Valley leadership, and twice named a “Top 20 Women to Watch,” Jocelyn is an expert at creating successful, customer-centric cybersecurity and technology organizations, increasing the velocity of their marketing and sales, and nurturing startups into growth engines. She is also a strong advocate for continuous innovation in the cybersecurity profession along with the diversities and cultures that drive them.
Her cross-cutting perspective and expertise with global marketing and sales demand generation has landed her significant roles at top Fortune companies, such as Intel, as well as startups. Jocelyn has also advised and advanced cybersecurity and technology startups on leadership, acquisition and exit strategies.
In 2020, Jocelyn helped launch Keyavi Data in her twin roles as co-founder and the company’s first chief marketing officer, where she develops and executes highly targeted strategies to nurture new business partnerships and drive customer growth and satisfaction. She also excels at ensuring the company’s technology value is inseparably linked to customer success and business outcomes.
“I love working in startup environments that combine strategy with rapid execution to solve critical industry problems, “Jocelyn said. “That’s why I thrive in cultures like Keyavi’s, where cross-functional collaboration, creativity and metrics-driven business results are valued as much as launching breakthrough products like our self-protecting, intelligent data API security platform.
“Cybersecurity is a high-demand field, with millions of job openings worldwide and huge opportunities for women and minorities opening up. Diversity of experience, thought and background – not just gender – are just as important in attracting talent to the cyber field. I’m proud to be one of the voices influencing hiring managers to look outside the confines of a computer science degree or government career to women with backgrounds in analytics, risk management and other non-traditional tracks that can add unique perspectives and round out a cyber team’s core capabilities and strengths.”
About Keyavi Data Corp.
Headquartered in Denver, Keyavi’s multi-award-winning self-protecting, intelligent and self-aware cybersecurity technology enables an individual piece of data to think for itself, secure itself, refuse access to unauthorized users, stay continually aware of its surroundings and automatically report back to its owner. The company’s API platform and a full suite of applications riding on that platform also provide data owners with powerful controls to allow, revoke or deny access to their information – no matter who has it, where it’s stored, or how many copies exist. Under development for years before launching in 2020, this multi-patented technology is so unique and innovative that leading industry analyst firm Omdia designated “self-protecting data solutions” as a new cybersecurity industry category, with Keyavi as the clear leader. Keyavi’s easy-to-use yet robust solution delivers the ultimate in peace of mind for public and private organizations, their remote workforces and partner ecosystems in solving the security challenges of controlling confidential and intellectual property from data leaks, breaches and ransomware. To learn more about Keyavi and its breakthrough technology, visit https://keyavidata.com/our-technology/. Follow Keyavi on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter using the @KeyaviData handle and hashtags #Keyavi #CybersecResilience. Keyavi DataTM and Intelligent DirectoryTM are trademarks of Keyavi Data Corp. All rights reserved.
About Cyber Defense Awards
This is Cyber Defense Magazine’s ninth year of honoring cybersecurity innovators, in this case the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 on our Cyber Defense Awards platform. In this competition, judges for these prestigious awards include cybersecurity industry veterans, trailblazers and market makers Gary Miliefsky of CDMG, Dr. Peter Stephenson of CDMG, Robert R. Ackerman Jr. of Allegis Cyber and David DeWalt of NightDragon with much appreciation to emeritus judge Robert Herjavec of Herjavec Group. To see the complete list of finalists for the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 please visit https://cyberdefenseawards.com/black-unicorn-awards-finalists-2021/
About Cyber Defense Magazine
Cyber Defense Magazine was founded in 2012 by Gary S. Miliefsky, globally recognized cyber security thought leader, inventor and entrepreneur and continues to be the premier source of IT Security information. We are managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Our mission is to share cutting-edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products and services in the information technology industry. We deliver electronic magazines every month online for free, and limited print editions exclusively for the RSA, Black Hat and IPEXPO conferences and our limited edition paid reprint subscribers. Learn more about us at http://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com. Cyber Defense Magazine is a proud member of the Cyber Defense Media Group (CDMG).
Note to Editors: A video of Keyavi CEO Elliot Lewis thanking the Black Unicorn award judges is available for viewing on Keyavi’s YouTube channel here.
