Phosphorus Cybersecurity Appoints Brian Contos as Chief Security Officer

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 8, 2022–(PRNEWSWIIRE)–Phosphorus Cybersecurity™, the leading provider of full scope security for Internet of Things devices, today announced the appointment of Brian Contos to the position of Chief Security Officer (CSO). 

Contos has over 25 years of security industry experience, including past roles as CISO at Verodin (acquired by Mandiant), Chief Security Strategist at Imperva and CISO at ArcSight. He began his infosec career with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and later Bell Labs. With two IPOs and seven acquisitions, Brian has helped to build some of the most successful security companies in the world. Contos was also featured in the cyberwar documentary, “5 Eyes,” and he is the author of “Enemy at the Water Cooler” and a co-author of “Physical & Logical Security Convergence.”

“Brian is an experienced security executive and a thought leader who can see around corners. We are thrilled to have him join our team,” said Chris Rouland, CEO of Phosphorus Cybersecurity™. “He will play an important role in the company’s security technology development and business growth.”

“Phosphorus is one of those very rare security startups that come together twice a decade if you’re lucky,” said Brian Contos, CSO of Phosphorus Cybersecurity™. “They have put together a pioneering security solution and expert team focused on the rapidly growing and highly vulnerable enterprise IoT space. Phosphorus is solving problems that just a few years ago were thought to be impossible and they are unapologetically changing how enterprises secure IoT.”

Phosphorus Cybersecurity™ provides unprecedented IoT defense solutions for enterprise customers. Through its automated security solutions against IoT’s most critical vulnerabilities, Phosphorus CybersecurityTM enables organizations to scale IoT technologies without adding additional employees to secure them. In February, the company closed a $38 million Series A growth round led by SYN Ventures and MassMutual Ventures.

Phosphorus Cybersecurity™ has found that 20% to 30% of today’s corporate networks consist of IoT devices, with little to no security programs in place. Across the enterprise, as high as 26% of all IoT devices are end-of-life and no longer supported with firmware updates by their manufacturer; and as many as 50% have known vulnerabilities or default passwords, with 20% of those vulnerabilities being critical CVEs (CVSS score of 9 or above). As an example of these weaknesses, Phosphorus Cybersecurity™ recently observed one case in which hackers launched a ransomware attack on a prominent US company after infiltrating the network through an unprotected door controller.

About Phosphorus

Phosphorus Cybersecurity™ is a leading provider of full scope, automated Security of Things™ device protection solutions for enterprise and government customers. Founded in 2017 by Chris Rouland, Rebecca Rouland and Earle Ady, the company is a trusted partner of large financial institutions, Fortune 500s and government agencies. Phosphorus Cybersecurity™’s investors include SYN Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, General Advance and Atypical Ventures. Website: https://www.phosphorus.io/