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class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <main id=\"main\" role=\"main\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--event js-stickybar\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__details\" readability=\"4.952380952381\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__info js-sticky-bar-content\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Voting is open for the 2024 CyberScoop 50 awards! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"stickybar__link button button-tertiary\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cyberscoop50\/vote\/\">Click here!<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"24.784172661871\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"30.863309352518\">\n<p> The Mandiant founder and Google Cloud adviser tells CyberScoop that he sees a lot of similarities between SpecterOps and the early days of his cybersecurity powerhouse company. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/exclusive-kevin-mandia-joins-specterops-as-chair-of-the-board.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image 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class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"46.302094464629\"><body readability=\"94.27818627451\"><\/p>\n<p>Kevin Mandia, founder of Mandiant and co-founder and general partner at Ballistic Ventures, has joined SpecterOps, a Virginia-based startup focused on attack path management, as the chair of its board of directors. <\/p>\n<p>Founded in 2017, SpecterOps offers software that allows companies to better defend identities, particularly those used in conjunction with Microsoft Active Directory, Azure AD, Entra ID and hybrid environments. Started by three red-teamers \u2014 David McGuire, Jason Frank, and Raphael Mudge \u2014 the company also offers penetration testing and security maturity assessments. <\/p>\n<p>In an interview with CyberScoop, Mandia said he is excited to join the board and sees a lot of similarities between where SpecterOps is now and his early days at Mandiant. He hopes to use that expertise to help McGuire \u2014 the SpecterOps CEO \u2014 avoid potential land mines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was unfunded [at Mandiant], so I didn\u2019t have an institutional investor saying, \u2018You need to do this, you need to look this way,\u2019\u201d Mandia said. \u201cI was doing whatever I wanted for seven years. So I think some of the things I learned along the way, the hard way, can maybe save David a few months of decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A good portion of that further decision-making will be in relation to SpecterOps\u2019 BloodHound Enterprise, a software tool that allows organizations to map and predict how an attacker can move through a system based on a hypothetical credential theft. McGuire told CyberScoop his company built the tool for its own pen-testing engagements, and then released an open-source version that has been well-received among practitioners. The paid version of the software has also been popular for the company, with SpecterOps saying that new customer acquisition grew more than 125% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere we focus is, \u2018Let\u2019s sever lateral movement escalation\u2019 specifically, and no real product out there does that,\u201d McGuire told CyberScoop. \u201cWe feel the most excited when we\u2019re removing the adversary and their ability to attack enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mandia has first-hand knowledge of how identity-based attacks can get through the toughest security setups. In 2021, Russia\u2019s foreign intelligence service (SVR) leveraged specific username and passwords to breach FireEye as <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fireeye-russia-solarwinds-kevin-mandia-postcard\/\">part of the SolarWinds incident<\/a>, rather than using a single software backdoor akin to a master key that would unlock all of the necessary data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a frustrating position to be in,\u201d Mandia told CyberScoop. Organizations \u201cneed to understand identity architecture and the risk it presents to your organization. I think that\u2019s an enormous blind spot. We\u2019ve got public companies that help us shut the front door [with vulnerability management]. It is time for a company to help us shut the back door [with identity management] and that\u2019s SpecterOps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McGuire believes in BloodHound because the company partly developed it as a way to raise the quality of its pen-testing work. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cNot to throw shade on anybody, but EDRs (Endpoint Detection and Response software) don\u2019t stop us\u201d in pen-testing engagements, McGuire said. \u201cWe can bypass almost every security technology from an apex attacker perspective. It\u2019s a little egotistical, but we built the tool to stop ourselves.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Bravado aside, the work is paying off. SpecterOps has grown significantly over the past year; with employee headcount climbing 40%. Mandia says he will primarily help SpecterOps scale its business as growth continues. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned every lesson on scale the hard way, from a guy in a basement to a CEO of a public company with 3,700-plus employees,\u201d he told CyberScoop. \u201cI look at David, and I see a lot of pattern recognition at a technical practitioner\u201d who Mandia can help guide. <\/p>\n<p>Even with the new role, Mandia says he will continue his work with Ballistic Ventures and his advisory work with Google Cloud. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a 30-year cybersecurity person,\u201d Mandia said. \u201cThis is all I\u2019m good at. I\u2019m not going to start a bakery.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.8453177257525\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"14\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/exclusive-kevin-mandia-joins-specterops-as-chair-of-the-board-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Greg Otto\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Greg Otto<\/h4>\n<p> Greg Otto is Editor-in-Chief of CyberScoop, overseeing all editorial content for the website. Greg has led cybersecurity coverage that has won various awards, including accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Prior to joining Scoop News Group, Greg worked for the Washington Business Journal, U.S. News & World Report and WTOP Radio. 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{"id":5556,"date":"2024-10-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=81971"},"modified":"2024-10-01T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:00:00","slug":"exclusive-kevin-mandia-joins-specterops-as-chair-of-the-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/10\/01\/exclusive-kevin-mandia-joins-specterops-as-chair-of-the-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Kevin Mandia joins SpecterOps as chair of the board"},"content":{"rendered":"