Voting for new members for the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee will take place from Monday 11th September 2023 to Thursday 14th September 2023. There are 2 seats open in this election for a full three-year term and 1 seat for election for a two-year term.
Information about the elections will be sent to you directly via e-mail if you are eligible to vote. You MUST have your TI certificate to be able to vote and only one vote per team will be accepted – team reps can check their voter status with Trusted Introducer. As a reminder, only accredited and certified teams are eligible to vote in elections. The full election rules can be found in the TF-CSIRT Terms of Reference.
Information about each of the candidates is included below to help you with voting.
Candidate A: Vilius Benetis
Dr Vilius Benetis is a member of the NRD CIRT (at NRD Cyber Security, Lithuania) where he leads a team of experts in consulting, establishing, modernising and operating CSIRT/SOCs for governments, organisations and sectors in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. He actively contributes to the development of CSIRT/SOC methodologies for ENISA, FIRST.org, ISACA and ITU. He is an Industry Professor in Cybersecurity at Kaunas Technology University (ktu.edu) and an official CIS Controls Ambassador.
The main motivation to apply as a member of the Steering Committee is to support the strengthening and development of the TF-CSIRT in the current realities of the international cyber incident response (regulatory developments, increased need for partnerships to strengthen cyber resilience, etc.). Vilius brings more than 20 years of experience in non-profit management as a board member of international student and professional organisations (best.eu.org, IEEE, ISACA, NECC.network).
Candidate B: Marko Krstic
Dear colleagues and friends, I would like to introduce myself, especially to the colleagues I haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet. My name is Marko Krstic and I am a Head of Cybersecurity Division and National CERT Affairs in the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communication and Postal Services (RATEL), organization in which SRB-CERT is hosted.
My extensive experience in the field of cybersecurity is the result both from operational and academic activities. I started my career in 2013, at RATEL’s IT Department, where I acquired necessary technical skills and knowledge. When the National CERT was established within RATEL, my professional focus moved toward SRB-CERT activities. Since new technologies and scientific research have always been my great passions, I finished the PhD studies in Computer Science in parallel with my everyday job.
I am the head of a relatively young CERT, but I have already understood the tremendous benefits of learning and growing within the TF-CSIRT community. I also believe that there are options for further enhancement of the already provided benefits. If I gain your trust and become a member of the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee, I will actively cooperate with other teams in order to further improve current strengths, develop new activities and establish cooperation with other communities, especially those which need better inclusion and involvement (such as the colleagues from the Western Balkan region).
Candidate C: Vera Mikusova
Dear respected members of the community,
It is my pleasure to seek a position on the steering committee of TF-CSIRT, an organization highly esteemed not only by our own organization but also recognized for its invaluable contributions to the security community.
My name is Vera Mikusova, and my journey in cybersecurity began in 2013. During my studies in security and law at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic and my tenure as the president of the AFCEA (Armed Forces Communication and Electronic Association) student club. I witnessed the initial discussions of the Cyber Security Act of the Czech Republic. Since then, I have actively participated in the implementation of numerous legislative initiatives, including GDPR.
Even during my studies, I took on the responsibility of project coordination for the Safer Internet Center. Subsequently, I gained valuable experience at one of the ‘Big Four’ companies, Ernst & Young, in their Cyber Security division. Specifically, I worked on audits and contributed to the implementation of ISO 27001 and risk analysis for various organizations.
My strengths lie in legislative understanding, administrative efficiency, project management, coordination, trust-building, cultivating strong social connections, and effective communication. If given the opportunity, I would utilize these strengths, along with the resources and knowledge of our organization, to continue building a strong community, fostering trust, and advancing security in the digital realm. So we can continue and maybe even improve our friendly and diversified professional environment where our members find value, enjoy their work, and willingly share their knowledge and experiences.
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Candidate D: David Monnier
Dear members of TF-CSIRT,
My name is David Monnier. I’m presently Chief Information Officer, Chief Evangelist, and Fellow at Team Cymru, Inc. I’ve been involved in Internet security and operations for more than 25 years. Having been a TF-CSIRT member since 2011 and having presented at fifteen or so of our events over those years, it’s likely many of you know and have met me. For those who I may not have met, please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a technical person turned hands-on executive primarily focused on defensive system design, miscreant disruption, and cyber threat intelligence. I began my career in higher education in the USA working in high performance computing. Recognizing the power of collaboration and the operational need for information sharing, I moved on to help launch the Research and Education Networking ISAC to establish a trust group designed to deal with the unique threats faced by research systems globally. From there I was invited to join Team Cymru and to serve as an engineer and outreach member helping to provide threat intelligence and guidance to global trust communities along the way. An example of this would be our efforts to provide no-cost threat and incident data via our CSIRT Assistance Program that I announced at my first meeting in Malahide, Ireland, back in 2011. I’m a member of multiple global trust groups that focus on various threat topics we face as a community to include but not limited to CSAM, electronic fraud, nation-state threat activity, and general online miscreancy.
It would be my honor to be considered by you for a role as member of our Steering Committee. With more than a decade of experience in our community, its operation, and goals, I stand to bring a fresh perspective coupled with years of experience and earned wisdom. I understand the threats we face as a community and also the challenges of operating a trust group that spans the globe. In addition to technical and community building experience, I also bring the first-hand knowledge earned along the journey of growing our threat intelligence business from a small company of ten people into an industry influencing company of more than one hundred seventy members. With this knowledge I would hope to influence our direction in an ever-changing landscape of threat actors, their motivations, and with full understanding of the economic realities we face. Please consider me for this role. I thank you for your time spent reading this proposal and look forward to answering any questions you may have for me.