New Leadership Expands Ontinue’s World-Class SOC Team, Driving and Accelerating Ontinue’s Global Growth
Ontinue, the managed detection and response (MDR) division of Open Systems and winner of the 2022 Microsoft Security MSSP Partner of the Year award, today announced the additions of Craig Jones and Gareth Lindahl-Wise as its Vice President of Security Operations and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), respectively. The addition of these veteran cybersecurity experts will help Ontinue expand and scale its operations to serve new markets and achieve its mission to be the most trusted 24/7 security partner, empowering organisations to operate more strategically and with less risk.
Many organisations have become increasingly vulnerable to the latest threats due to their digital transformation efforts, which have resulted in expanding attack surfaces, increasing cloud usage and the growing complexity caused by too many security tools. Though many organisations have engaged managed extended detection and response (MXDR) service providers for help, most providers cannot fully modernise or scale their customers’ operations to counter current and future threats.
The Ontinue ION MXDR service is specifically developed to overcome these shortcomings in several ground-breaking ways, including the first Microsoft Teams-based collaboration model for seamless real-time communication between SecOps, IT and all other security stakeholders. Ontinue is also pioneering novel uses of AI and automation to accelerate the detection and response to threats faster than ever before. Complementing these advanced capabilities of the ION platform is the deep Microsoft security expertise of Ontinue’s ION staff, which enables customers to maximise the capabilities of their Microsoft security investments. The extensive experience that Jones and Lindahl-Wise bring in each of these areas will help drive the further development of the ION platform and service.
“Craig and Gareth bring us tremendous experience in understanding the ever-expanding threat landscape and strengthening security program efficacy and maturity. Adding their insights to our ION MXDR service, which redefines MDR with advanced collaboration and automation, enables us to provide customers better detection, response – and ultimately prevention capabilities – as we expand in existing and net-new markets,” said Geoff Haydon, the CEO of Ontinue. “By bringing on Craig and Gareth we’re doubling down on our commitments to strengthening customers’ cyber resilience, to fully leveraging Microsoft investments they’ve already made, and to ensuring Ontinue is always the most trusted MXDR service provider to partners and customers alike.”
Craig Jones brings more than 15 years of cybersecurity experience to Ontinue. As the Vice President of Security Operations, Jones is responsible for overseeing Ontinue’s four SOCs distributed across the globe and the teams staffing them. He comes to Ontinue after spending eight years with the cybersecurity solutions provider Sophos. As Senior Director of Global Security Operations, he directed all operational aspects of Sophos’ worldwide security program. Jones is also a frequent speaker and noted thought leader, recognised as an expert in incident response, SIEM, SOC detection, SOC automation and threat intelligence.
“With the complexity of the global threat environment constantly increasing, it’s imperative that organisations have 24/7 protection that can scale as needed. This is not easy and working with an MXDR provider is the best way to accomplish this,” said Jones. “This is what attracted me to Ontinue. Its ION MXDR service’s combination of advanced collaboration, AI-driven automation and four world-class SOCs distributed strategically around the world make it the MXDR solution that others aspire to be.”
Gareth Lindahl-Wise comes to Ontinue via its acquisition of Tiberium, a provider of highly automated managed security services based on Microsoft security solutions. He has more than 20 years of IT and security expertise. A founding director of Tiberium, Lindahl-Wise was its Chief Security Advisor, responsible for ensuring the company’s services and offerings delivered outcomes that mattered. He was focused on driving innovation that was of the utmost importance to customers. Before Tiberium, Lindahl-Wise was the Group CEO of Klint Risk Consulting, a security consultancy, while serving as the Chair of the Information Security Forum. Prior to this role he served as the Director of Cyber Risk for ITC Secure, an advisory-led cybersecurity services firm. Lindahl-Wise began his career at British American Tobacco, where over 12 years he held several increasingly senior roles, including Head of Global IT Security and Group Information Security Manager. As CISO, he will oversee the global team responsible for the overall security of Ontinue’s own information systems and client facing services, ensuring Ontinue stays ahead of the changing threat landscape and remains compliant with all its obligations.
“As a CISO I understand the challenges that other CISOs face. From the ongoing lack of cyber talent and the self-defeating complexity of multivendor stacks, to the need to modernise their security operations to protect their expanding attack surfaces from ever more complex threats,” said Lindahl-Wise. “I am excited to be part of the Ontinue team and to work with my new colleagues in our mission to be an always-on trusted partner that goes beyond traditional MDR solutions.”
About Ontinue
Ontinue, the MDR division of Open Systems, is on a mission to be the most trusted, 24/7, always-on security partner that empowers customers to embrace the future by operating more strategically and with less risk. Grounded in an intelligent, cloud-delivered SecOps platform, Ontinue offers superior protection that goes well beyond basic detection and response services.
Ontinue is the only MDR provider that leverages AI-driven automation, human expertise, and the Microsoft Security product portfolio to continuously assess and protect your environment and advance your security posture for digital transformation.
Continuous protection. Always-on prevention Services. Nonstop SecOps. That’s Ontinue. Learn more: www.ontinue.com.
