SpiderOak Mission Systems Adds Recognized Industry Leaders to Federal Advisory Board

New board to guide SpiderOak in setting new standard for secure communications and collaboration in federal marketplace

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Jul 29, 2020, 13:59 ET

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SpiderOak Mission Systems, providers of cryptographically-secure communication and collaboration products, announced today the formation of the company's Federal Advisory Board. Composed of thought leaders from civilian, defense, and intelligence agencies, the board features Lieutenant General Ken Tovo, U.S. Army (Retired), Counterterror and Cyber Security expert Nancy Dillman, and internationally renowned political scientist and management scholar Professor Daniel Diermeier.

This news is just another benchmark in SpiderOak's effort to strengthen its defense- and intelligence-industry expertise. The new board members will be instrumental in helping the company best align the capabilities of their secure communication and collaboration product suite (CrossClave) and new in-the-works solutions that address trusted application development and secure management of spacecraft and payloads to ensure they align with the requirements of the federal government's most sensitive information-sharing environments.

CrossClave is a modern productivity suite designed from the ground up with security-first principles, not as an afterthought. CrossClave gives users absolute confidence in the safety and integrity of their most sensitive data across trusted and untrusted networks alike. Leveraging a unique combination of No-Knowledge encryption and Distributed Ledger (i.e., private blockchain) technologies, CrossClave eliminates entire categories of cyberattacks, reducing the attack surface and the subsequent vulnerabilities attackers can exploit.

"We are honored and excited that Lieutenant General Tovo, Ms. Dillman and Mr. Diermeier, will officially be joining SpiderOak's newly created Federal Advisory Board," said Dave Pearah, President and CEO of SpiderOak Mission Systems. Their positions are effective as of August 1^st, 2020 and have already begun advising this disruptive company.

This announcement builds on SpiderOak's ongoing strategy of growing its federal market presence and helping DoD and intelligence clients address some of the industry's most complex security challenges. "It is essential for us to find proven leaders who not only share our perspective on security but have the mission experience to validate the need for it. Lt. Gen. Tovo, Ms. Dillman, and Mr. Diermeier will help the executive team build on our investments and guide us to the next level," said Mike Campanelli, SpiderOak VP of Federal. "I am confident that these are the leaders to get us there."

United States Army Lieutenant General (Retired) Ken Tovo joins SpiderOak after serving as Commanding General of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). "I think what SpiderOak is doing with No-Knowledge Encryption and Distributed Ledger is a real game changer for secure information exchange in field," said General Tovo. "The possible applications are exciting, and I look forward to directing them where they can be of the most benefit." Tovo was graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1983. He served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Southern Command; Commander, Special Operations Command Central; Deputy Commanding General, Special Operations Command Europe; Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; and Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan and NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.

Lt. Gen. Tovo is joined by Ms. Nancy Dillman who most recently served as an Operations Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, specializing in denied-area tradecraft techniques, along with counterintelligence (CI) and counterterrorism (CT). "The challenges facing secure communication and collaboration in military operations are at a completely different level than in commercial settings," said Ms. Dillman. "SpiderOak's Zero-Trust approach is specifically designed to operate in these contested environments, and I look forward to helping them get this capability into the hands of people who really need it." Before joining SpiderOak, Ms. Dillman's last overseas tour took place in Afghanistan, where she handled sensitive CI and CT accounts. Following her public service, Ms. Dillman set out to develop data-analytic products that would offer real-world solutions to USG clients. She became the majority owner and CEO of Rsignia Inc. in 2015, and after having successfully built the company, Ms. Dillman oversaw and led the acquisition of Rsignia by FedData Holdings in 2019.

Professor Daniel Diermeier, an internationally renowned political scientist and management scholar, also joins the Federal Advisory Board. "From a business perspective, it's been interesting watching the rapid shift to telework over the past few months, specifically how it has exposed a massive security blind-spot in many of the products organizations rely on to facilitate the remote workplace," stated Diermeier. "SpiderOak's security-first design principle eliminates this blind spot and brings enterprise level security to the home office." Daniel was recently elected Vanderbilt University's ninth chancellor, beginning his term on July 1st, 2020. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Guggenheim fellow, Diermeier also served as the provost at the University of Chicago, where he was recognized as the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor and as dean of the Harris School of Public Policy.

SpiderOak is looking forward to how Lt. Gen. Tovo, Ms. Dillman, and Professor Diermeier can guide and accelerate the company's objective in driving a new standard for secure communications and collaboration within the DoD and intelligence communities. The advisory board will be structured to help with SpiderOak's direct operation and keep the company up to date on various business, regulatory, and federal trends and the potential impact on the company and clients.

About SpiderOak Mission Systems

As network environments have become increasingly contested, the defensive capabilities of most software products have not kept pace with the attackers. SpiderOak is on a mission to protect the world's data via secure communication and collaboration products and solutions. Our offerings leverage Zero-Trust distributed data enclaves to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our clients' most sensitive data in any environment. From explicit entitlements in mobile applications to process sandboxing in web browsers, SpiderOak employs a constructional design philosophy where security is built into our products from the ground up.

For more information about SpiderOak Mission Systems, join us for our August 6th SpiderOak/CarahSoft webcast, "Blockchain And Distributed Ledger: Not Just for Cryptocurrency Anymore!" contact the SpiderOak team at 703-673-9037 or e-mail [email protected].

Editorial Contact
For inquiries, please call Dave Pearah, (866) 432-9888 ext. 6 or write [email protected]

SOURCE SpiderOak Inc.