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International Vision Regional Focus

About us

We were established in the UK in 2006 and CREST International was formed in 2015 to act as an umbrella organisation for our regions globally. We currently have chapters in the Americas, Asia, Australasia, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Our strategy is aligned to that of nurturing global capability, capacity, consistency and community in cyber security. It is not tied to any country specific agenda, but we support regions and countries to build their own chapters to service the needs of the local market.

Each region has a council of elected member company representatives who oversee the strategy and activities within the region. The chairs of each of these Regional Councils represent their region on the International Council.

The International Council comprises CREST President Rowland Johnson, the chairs of the five Regional Councils, five cyber security discipline representatives plus members of CREST Operating Executive.

CREST International offers central services in support of members, professionals, governments, regulators and other stakeholders as well as our International and Regional Councils. These services include accreditation, certification and examinations, governance, supporting business between members and the buying community, liaison with governments and regulators, marketing and communication support and much else.

Meet the International Council

Rowland Johnson

President

Rowland is focused on driving initiatives to deliver increased engagement across the 290+ CREST members and all CREST qualified individuals globally. He is responsible for working internationally with governments, regulators and other key industry stakeholders to build stronger technical cyber security ecosystems.

A former member of the CREST GB Executive, serving between 2014 and 2020, he has been a dedicated supporter of the organisation for many years. He was instrumental in CREST’s international growth, playing an integral role in the creation of CREST chapters in Singapore, USA and Hong Kong.

Rowland was a founding director of cyber security company Nettitude and oversaw its acquisition by Lloyd’s Register in 2018. Following the acquisition, he worked with the leadership team as a strategic advisor focusing on global growth.

Rowland has worked closely with international governments and regulators to bring about increased levels of capability in the Penetration Testing, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response and Security Operations Centre markets. He is able to talk about these from a government and strategy perspective as well as sharing real-world examples from what is seen in the field. Rowland presents at many international events and is a passionate cyber security leader that is actively trying to professionalise the industry.

Contact: [email protected]

Chathura Abeydeera

Representative

Chathura is a Director in Cyber and Forensic practice of KPMG Australia and a highly technical cyber security practitioner with more than 15 years’ experience. He is a CREST Certified Tester and Assessor.

Chathura has extensive experience in managing and leading complex red and purple team assessments, penetration testing and cyber incident response engagements. He has worked with clients across the state and federal government, power and energy, technology, engineering, retail, education, telecommunication and financial services sectors.

Tom Brennan

US Council Chair

Tom Brennan, a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, exemplifies leadership and expertise in the cybersecurity field. As the Chair of the CREST Americas Council and a Director of our US LLC, he plays a pivotal role in enhancing cybersecurity standards and practices across the Americas and beyond. In his capacity as the Chief Information Officer at Mandelbaum Barrett PC, a prominent law firm, and as a Partner at Proactive Risk, a niche advisory firm in New Jersey, Tom applies his extensive cybersecurity knowledge to protect critical infrastructure. His commitment to the open source community is also notable, demonstrated by over a decade of influential service on the OWASP Foundation’s Board of Directors, managing multiple projects and leading the New York City chapter. Furthermore, Tom’s tenure as the Technical Director for Safecode underscores his vast technical and leadership skills in cybersecurity.

Contact: [email protected]

Oliver Church

Representative, Threat Intelligence

Oliver is CEO of Orpheus, a specialist Cyber Threat Intelligence company. He is responsible for Cyber Threat Intelligence on the UK Council and is a passionate believer in the importance of intelligence-led security. Oliver has previously established successful cyber security teams and capabilities at major global organisations and has a wide range of risk management and security experience, developed working for a diverse range of large and small organisations over the last 17 years.

An expert in cyber risk management and cyber resilience testing, Oliver has been involved in developing intelligence-led cyber resilience frameworks, working with regulators to do so, and has extensive experience leading cyber threat intelligence teams to conduct the testing itself. Oliver’s cyber security expertise is built on a foundation as a qualified lawyer, which enables him to add the legal perspective to the management of cyber risks. Oliver is a CREST Certified Cyber Threat Intelligence Manager (CCTIM), an Assessor of the TI examinations and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

Leigh Collett

Representative, SOC

A seasoned IT professional and business manager with broad technical skills in IT, programming and security.

As Co-Founder of NetWorks (UK) Limited in 1994, I oversaw the growth of the company’s technical and commercial operations including a revers acquisition to become ML Integration prior to its sale to C&W in 2000.iSimile was developed in a similar way and was recognised as a leading supplier of Security Information Management solutions in the UK, helping organisations with their security architecture by providing best of breed security software.Now based in the Czech Republic, I lead Security Operations for Accenture’s Prague Cyber Fusion Centre, delivering security services to clients across Europe.

Rob Dartnall

UK Council Chair

Rob is the CEO and Director of Intelligence for Security Alliance Ltd, a Cyber Threat Intelligence company. From a military intelligence background, Rob transitioned his intelligence tradecraft into the cyber domain where he is an advocate of ‘Intelligence Preparation of the Cyber Environment’.

Rob’s primary work has been designing intelligence-led resiliency programs, developing intelligence capability, creating intelligence sharing frameworks and initiatives and providing intelligence led consulting engagements. Rob holds the CREST Certified Threat Intelligence Manager qualification, is a CREST TI Assessor and sits of the CTIPs Sub- Committee.

Rob was formally elected as Chair of what was then the GB Executive on 3 March 2021.

Contact: [email protected]

Matt Lorentzen

Representative, Intelligence-led Testing

Matt has been working in the IT industry for the last 25 years. He has held CREST qualifications for over 10 years as a Crest Certified Tester and Crest Simulated Attack Specialist. Matt is dedicated to the role and has delivered engagements for a diverse range of global clients working within the military, government, financial and commercial sectors. Matt has also been awarded Chartership status through the UK Cyber Security Council and is a CHECK Team Leader. He has presented at a broad range of conferences with topics that cover cyber security skills development, red team tradecraft and career progression in the industry. He is an experienced speaker and regularly contributes to podcasts and publications.

Rodrigo Marcos Alvarez

Europe Council Chair

Rod is the CEO of SECFORCE Ltd, a penetration testing and red teaming consultancy. Rod also contributes to the security community by leading an OWASP chapter, mainly driven by the goal of increasing security awareness and providing an opportunity for individuals to acquire technical offensive security skills.

With 20 years of experience in offensive security, Rod has a strong technical background. Even though he still enjoys getting involved in the technical aspect of security and getting his hands dirty in “low level” stuff, Rod’s professional goals are around creating a rewarding and inspiring work environment, helping solve customer challenges and make this world a safer place – one IP address at a time.

Contact: [email protected]

Benn Morris

Representative, Incident Response

Benn is the Managing Director of 3B Data Security, a niche provider of cyber security services, digital forensics, incident response, security training, penetration testing and audit & advisory related services.

Benn started his Digital Forensic Investigation career in a UK Law Enforcement and Counter Terrorism. He has spent 18 years investigating computer crime, hacking investigations, conducting incident response and security assessments; 15 years of this he has been a PCI QSA and PFI.

Benn is a CREST IR Assessor and Chair of the IR Focus Group.

Nigel Phair

Australasia Council Chair

Nigel is Director, UNSW Canberra Cyber. He is an influential analyst on the intersection of technology, crime and society. Nigel has published three acclaimed books on the international impact of cybercrime, is a regular media commentator and provides executive and board advice on strategy, risk and governance of technology.

In a 21-year career with the Australian Federal Police, he achieved the rank of Detective Superintendent and headed up investigations at the Australian High Tech Crime Centre for four years. He is founder and managing director of a technology start-up company and has chaired a number of not-for-profit organisations.

Contact: [email protected]

Boglarka Ronto

Representative, Penetration Testing

Boglarka is Director of Operations at Commissum (Eurofins Cyber Security UK), with a background in penetration testing and UNIX systems administration. In her role she relays a lifelong passion for the security industry, supporting a variety of businesses, both large and small on their journey to a more mature security posture. Boglarka works with young people to help them find a fulfilling career in one of the many areas of cyber security, focusing on challenges associated with niche requirements such as testing mainframes.

Emil Tan

Asia Council Chair

Emil is Chief Operating Officer of cybersecurity talent development company Red Alpha. He took up the role of Chair of the Asia Council in December 2021, working with the council to support members and helping to shape our strategy in the region.

Emil founded and runs Singapore’s largest cybersecurity community group, Division Zero (Div0), worked for the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and was recently seconded to the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA). He is also Chair of Singapore’s Cyber Youth Singapore (CYS) and is a co-Founder and permanent member of the Global Cybersecurity Camp (GCC) which is an Asia-Pacific talent development programme.

Contact: [email protected]

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Chapter Pages

CREST International

CREST International
Seven Stars House
1 Wheler Road
Coventry
West Midlands
CV3 4LB
United Kingdom

 

[email protected]

CREST Americas
CREST Asia

CREST Assurance South East Asia Pte Ltd
11 Irving Place #09-01
Singapore 369771

 

Hong Kong: [email protected]

Singapore: [email protected]

CREST Australasia
CREST EU

CREST EU Stichting
Zuid Hollandlaan 7
The Hague
2596 AL
Netherlands

 

Email:

[email protected]

 

CREST UK

CREST UK
Seven Stars House
1 Wheler Road
Coventry
West Midlands
CV3 4LB
United Kingdom

 

[email protected]