On April 21, Arlington, VA-based Shift5, an operational technology (OT) cybersecurity company that defends military platforms and critical transportation systems from cyberattacks, announced Alexander Gates has joined the company as chief research officer (CRO). In this role, Gates will oversee the company’s threat research portfolio, product security strategy, and knowledge management efforts, ensuring the distribution of Shift5 information as efficiently as possible.
Shift5 protects the OT layer of transportation and weapon systems, providing aviation, rail and metro, and military defenders complete visibility into their OT networks. For the first time in history, operators can begin to apply cybersecurity best practices to the operation of these critical systems, dramatically reducing their cyber risk. In his role as CRO, Gates will apply his experience from the highest levels of U.S. national security to the strategy and design of Shift5’s threat intelligence apparatus, enabling transportation and defense industries to better secure planes, trains, and weapon systems at the OT level.
“Alexander has a unique experience of building systems, processes, and teams that secure U.S. critical infrastructure that rare few in this industry do,” said Josh Lospinoso, CEO and co-founder, Shift5. “Not many have been on the ground-floor of creating the standards of critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and are positioned to guide the next phase of cutting edge defense. We’re honored that Alexander will join our team as we work to defend transportation infrastructure and military platforms from adversaries.”
“Throughout his career within the U.S. government, Alexander has proven his ability to spark systemic change and demonstrated that effective cybersecurity isn’t achieved through compulsory actions or by completing a checklist; rather, through ongoing efforts, innovative threat intelligence practices, and information sharing,” said Shift5 President Joe Lea. “Alexander is a natural addition to our leadership team of change-makers from Silicon Valley and the U.S. government. Shift5 is growing rapidly and we look forward to Alexander’s leadership as we build a team uniquely capable of solving a difficult problem in cybersecurity.”
With over 40 years of military and civil service, Gates brings extensive experience leading cybersecurity initiatives for the federal government to Shift5. At the National Security Agency (NSA), he helped build the NSA Threat Operations Center, which identified emerging cyber threats; created a cyber integration lab that focused on cyber situational awareness; and spent years leading NSA’s Red, Blue, Hunt and Technical Security Teams. Gates has served in numerous senior leadership and technical positions in the areas of cyber threat, signals Intelligence, research, and information assurance.
Source: Shift5
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