Ari Baranoff is the founder and Managing Partner of BlueCoat, where he leads integrated cybersecurity and investigative services for organizations across industry and government.

He brings more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience, much of it earned while leading security initiatives within multinational corporate environments. Ari has held executive roles supporting complex organizations, including work with companies such as PayPal and Citi, where he focused on protecting systems, managing risk, and responding to evolving cyber threats.

Since founding BlueCoat, Ari has applied that experience across hundreds of client engagements, helping organizations investigate incidents, strengthen their cybersecurity programs, and navigate complex security challenges.

His background also includes government cybersecurity, investigative, and physical security experience, providing additional depth in high-risk and sensitive environments.

Tim is a nationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, complex fraud investigations and threat intelligence, with global experience spanning technical protective operations and cyber defense. He has led the development of technical investigative and protection programs for U.S. government agencies, supporting efforts that have had significant impact on domestic and international organizations across the finance, retail and defense sectors.

With a strong background in managing high-performing teams, Tim has driven the development of cutting-edge cybersecurity technologies. For close to 20 years, he has consistently delivered creative and effective solutions to complex challenges, often under pressure and with limited resources.

Tim earned his undergraduate degree in criminology from the University of Oklahoma and holds a master’s degree in forensic investigations from the University of New Haven.

Taylor is a researcher and investigator specializing in open-source intelligence and its application in combating cybercrime, insider risk, threat financing, and human exploitation. He has served as a liaison between law enforcement and the technology sector, helping local, federal, and international agencies leverage internet-native evidence to apprehend and prosecute criminals. He has led multiple specialist teams in the building out of open-source intelligence programs and has trained hundreds of investigators in digital and operational security tactics. Taylor began his career with a focus on emerging markets, conducting corporate due diligence in markets where traditional sources of business and risk intelligence were unavailable. He is a credentialed IT security and anti-money laundering professional and an alumnus of the American University in Bulgaria.

Trisha Farrell is an accomplished senior leader in corporate security and investigations with 23 years of service at Citibank. In key operational leadership roles at Citi Security and Investigative Services, she directed and executed global functional strategies across all programs. Her leadership included Director roles in Global Security and North America Operations, as well as Senior Program Leadership for North America Background Screening.

With full accountability for multiple teams, Trisha managed budgeting, planning, policy development, people leadership, risk management, and compliance. Trisha provided strategic oversight of global operations, led major technology transformation initiatives, and implemented innovative risk mitigation and disciplinary frameworks that strengthened global consistency, reduced vulnerabilities, and enhanced protection of assets and personnel. She oversaw financial controls, internal controls, and analytics programs that delivered actionable metrics and insights to support strategic decision-making. Trisha consistently optimized program execution through process improvements, strategic vendor partnerships, disciplined expense management, and a strong focus on operational excellence, while upholding the highest standards of regulatory compliance.

Trisha holds a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven, with a Professional Certificate in Forensic Computer Investigation. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Quinnipiac University and completed the Leading Operational Excellence Executive Program at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Garrett Miller is a former US Government cyber operations officer who brought an advanced offensive security skillset to challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community. In addition, he is an independent cybersecurity researcher who is credited with discovering five novel vulnerabilities in Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. His research also includes analyzing video surveillance systems, developing wireless-physical intrusion detection systems, and studying the implications of GPU acceleration on cryptographic standards. Garrett’s offensive security skillset allows him to think like an attacker, helping partners to find and patch holes in infrastructure before an adversary does.

Steve, and his co-founder Garrett are proud to work with BlueCoat through their company RipRap Security as trusted cybersecurity experts. Our close alignment with BlueCoat’s mission and deep collaboration lead to more secure and resilient partners.

Steve Sharer is a former National Security Agency cyber operations officer and counterterrorism analyst who helped uncover novel nation-state cyber threats as well as develop new methodologies for identifying terrorist threats. Following his government service, he led cyber incident response and management operations for major German financial, automotive, and technologies organizations. He has also served as a trusted cybersecurity advisor to aid software development organizations in improving the security of applications installed on hundreds of millions of mobile devices worldwide.

Steve, and his co-founder Garrett are proud to work with BlueCoat through their company RipRap Security as trusted cybersecurity experts. Our close alignment with BlueCoat’s mission and deep collaboration lead to more secure and resilient partners.

Susie Bitters is a former National Security data analyst, linguist, and researcher who advanced the science of analytics and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within secure intelligence environments. Susie led multiple operational teams, encompassing national security and counterterrorism missions, and leveraged that operational expertise to guide artificial intelligence research at the U.S. Government’s Laboratory of Analytic Science (LAS). Following her government service, Susie led the AI Model Validation and Custom Models teams at the software development company GitLab.

Susie subsequently founded the data and AI governance company Grapevine Data, and is proud to work with BlueCoat as a trusted data and AI expert. Her close alignment with BlueCoat leads to more secure and optimized AI use across our partners’ workflows.

Dave is a global intelligence and security executive consulting on people risk, intelligence and security issues, as well as geopolitical risk and strategy.

He served for over a decade with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s Directorate of Operations / National Clandestine Service. He completed multiple overseas field tours where his missions focused primarily on counterterrorism, foreign intelligence collection, counterintelligence, cybersecurity, and political-military issues. He has specialized training in human behavioral analysis and unique, on-the-ground experience evaluating individuals’ suitability for the most sensitive missions.

Additionally, Dave served as a commissioned intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy and is qualified as an Information Dominance Warfare Officer. The bulk of his military service was with a reserve naval intelligence unit attached to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Prior to joining CIA and being commissioned in the Navy, Dave was an Assistant Country Director for China within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) at the Pentagon. He also worked at OSD’s Office of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, for the Foreign Commercial Service at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, and at the White House.

Dave attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and East Asian Studies. He also received a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, he has taken graduate- level coursework in national security and strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War College.

Julie Mirman began her professional legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City. Julie then served as an Administrative Law Judge for New York City’s Department of Finance. She is currently an attorney with the firm Berman, Sobin, Gross, Feldman and Darby LLP and serves as an arbitrator for the D.C. Bar and a mediator for the district court in Maryland. Julie is licensed to practice law in New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida.

Tate is a seasoned cybersecurity expert, startup founder and accomplished product leader with a track record of building innovative solutions that address complex security challenges across both the public and private sectors.

He founded and led a consumer-focused cybersecurity startup within Area 120, which was later acquired by Google One. At Google, Tate served as Product Lead for a 50+ person cross-functional team, spearheading the development and deployment of advanced privacy and security features to protect millions of users.

Before transitioning to tech leadership, Tate spent over eight years in federal service, where he played a key role in high-impact cybercrime investigations, including a landmark case involving illicit digital currency and a major intrusion into financial infrastructure. His contributions earned him several of the U.S. government’s top honors, such as the Samuel J. Heyman Call to Service Award (the “Oscars” for the federal government), the DHS Secretary’s Gold Medal (the highest DHS award given), and recognition as Secret Service Special Agent of the Year.

Tate’s earlier career includes service as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army. He holds a BS in mathematics and computer science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Cornell University. He continues to support the cybersecurity community by advising early-stage startups and running an online safety initiative aimed at enhancing personal digital security.

 

Matt has been a leader in various aspects of the investigative process for over 15 years and has broad legal, investigative, and regulatory expertise. He is currently the Director of Fraud Investigations for U.S. Bank, where he leads a team of over 180 investigative professionals focusing on external fraud, internal abuse and sales misconduct.

Prior to U.S Bank, Matt joined Citigroup. In his first role, he was a Senior Vice President, Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer within the Global Investigation Unit focusing on large-scale, international money laundering investigations. Matt then joined Citi’s Corporate Security and Investigative Services (CSIS) as Senior Investigative Manager to build and lead CSIS’s High Risk Unit (HRU), responsible for investigating the most sensitive and significant cases relating to insider abuse and large-scale fraud events.

Prior to his time at Citi, Matt was an Assistant State Attorney, where he led a trial team and prosecuted thousands of felony cases including organized fraud, embezzlement, insurance fraud and grand theft.

Matt received his criminal justice degree from Northeastern University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University.