Optiv Security Increases Focus on Holistic Cyber Security Solutions for Healthcare and Critical Infrastructure Industries

-- Appoints Seasoned CISO Larry Whiteside Jr. to Create Innovative Solutions that Address Industry-Specific Security Needs --

Denver – March 2, 2016 - Optiv Security, a leading provider of end-to-end cyber security solutions, today announced it has formalized its focus on solving the specific cyber security problems facing healthcare and critical infrastructure organizations. As part of this effort, Optiv appointed Larry Whiteside Jr., a seasoned industry CISO, as vice president to lead the creation of holistic solutions that will enable organizations in these vertical markets to better align their security strategies and programs with business objectives. Optiv currently provides nearly 70 percent of Fortune 500 healthcare companies and 50 percent of Fortune 500 utilities and energy companies with a combination of cyber security technology and services.

“Healthcare and critical infrastructure organizations around the world are targets for cyber criminals due to the sensitive data those entities hold and invaluable services they provide to nations and their citizens,” said Christina Richmond, program director, security services, IDC. “These organizations need a comprehensive cyber security solution in place to help better protect themselves against the increasing number and sophistication of cyber attacks targeting these industries. It’s important for them to work with a partner who understands their unique challenges and can provide the strategic and technical services they need to develop and execute on their security strategy.”

Optiv appointed Larry Whiteside Jr. as vice president of healthcare and critical infrastructure to lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive suite of strategic services and solutions that help healthcare and critical infrastructure executives solve their problems in an integrated and customized way. Whiteside will combine his in-depth knowledge of these industries with the company’s nearly 20 years of experience in the cyber security industry working with thousands of healthcare and critical infrastructure companies to help clients address the full lifecycle of their needs.

Prior to Optiv, Whiteside served as the chief security officer at Lower Colorado River Authority where he was responsible for the protection of all corporate personnel and assets, and led the Office of the CSO. Whiteside also worked at Comodo as corporate strategy advisor to the CEO, Lynx Technology Partners as CSO, Spectrum Health as CISO and director of enterprise operations, and Visiting Nurse Service of NY as CISO.

“Larry brings exceptional experience working for and with healthcare and critical infrastructure organizations on their cyber security programs,” said Tim Hoffman, executive vice president of worldwide client solutions for Optiv. “He joins our already outstanding team of dedicated cyber security experts that are focused on delivering end-to-end solutions that help address business risk associated with cyber threats. We are excited to bring new, innovative solutions to our clients in these vertical markets and look forward to helping more organizations holistically solve their security problems.”

Optiv currently helps healthcare and critical infrastructure organizations address and mitigate the risks posed by cyber security threats. These companies have leveraged Optiv to help plan, build and run successful security programs in the areas of third-party risk, cyber threat management, governance and compliance, and identity and access management. Additionally, Optiv strives to work collaboratively with healthcare and critical infrastructure clients to create and develop innovative solutions that address the cyber security challenges facing the marketplace.