Former White House Cybersecurity Advisor Joins Codenomicon Board of Directors

San Fransisco — Howard A. Schmidt, Former White House Cybersecurity Advisor, Joins Board of Directors of Codenomicon, a Verdane Capital VII portfolio company.

Codenomicon, the market leader in security stress-testing, announced today Howard A. Schmidt joined the Codenomicon Board of Directors. Schmidt previously served on the Codenomicon Board of Directors from January 2008 until December 2009 when President Barack Obama appointed him as White House Cybersecurity Coordinator, from which Schmidt retired in May 2012.

During the Administration of George W. Bush, Schmidt served as vice chair of the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and special adviser for Cyberspace Security for the White House. While serving the Bush Administration in 2002, Schmidt first became familiar with the efforts of Codenomicon’s founders when the founders released a security advisory on critical vulnerabilities in the SNMP network communications protocol, which is used to remotely control and monitor a wide variety of telecommunications equipment and military systems. Due to the criticality of the SNMP security vulnerabilities, the Administration discussed the security advisory inside the Oval Office.

Howard A. Schmidt has had a long distinguished career in defense, law enforcement and corporate security spanning more than 40 years, bringing with him experience in business, defense, intelligence, law enforcement, privacy, academia and international relations. As the Presidents’ advisor, Schmidt was responsible for coordinating interagency cybersecurity policy development and implementation and coordinated engagement with federal, state, local, international and private sector cybersecurity partners.

Previously, he was Chief Security Strategist for the US CERT Partners Program for the National Cyber Security Division, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His private-sector experience includes serving as Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer, and Chief Security Strategist at eBay and as Chief Security Officer for Microsoft. Prior to Microsoft, Schmidt served in leadership roles in the U.S. Air Force and FBI. He has been featured as a cyber-security expert on various international media outlets including ABC, CNN, CNBC, and Fox TV. Schmidt is co-author of “The Black Book on Corporate Security” and author of “Patrolling CyberSpace, Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in Data Security.”


About Codenomicon

Codenomicon finds security vulnerabilities others can’t find. Companies rely on Codenomicon’s solutions to discover zero-day vulnerabilities that cause Denial of Service (DoS) and data leakage, which are the unknown vulnerabilities Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) use to break into systems.

Codenomicon’s customers include Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Motorola, Google, Verizon, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, and T-Systems. Codenomicon is known for Defensics software for security stress-testing of software/firmware/hardware, Clarified Situation Awareness solution for Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and Network Operations Centers (NOCs), and Fuzz-o-Matic application testing-as-a-service. For more information, go to www.codenomicon.com

About Verdane

Verdane is a specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy inside two core growth themes; digitalisation and decarbonisation. 

Verdane funds hold over €6 billion in total commitments and have made over 400 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 140 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe. 

Verdane is also a certified B Corporation, the most ambitious sustainability accreditation globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy. 

Verdane is partly owned by the Verdane Foundation, which is focused on two areas: climate change and more equitable and inclusive local communities. 

More info: www.verdane.com  
Follow Verdane on LinkedIn

Press Contact

Verdane Press Office
press@verdane.com
+46 76 27 28 100

Latest Insights