Decades of Cybersecurity and Insider Risk Experience, from Washington, D.C. to Silicon Valley

Ari spent 21 years in government service, where he led high-impact cybersecurity, investigative, and physical security programs and initiatives. During this time, he oversaw some of the most consequential data breach investigations involving U.S. corporate and government entities. His leadership in these efforts laid a strong foundation for his transition into the private sector.

He began his private sector career at Citigroup as the Director of Investigations (North America), where he re-engineered the company’s investigative function. His portfolio expanded to include high-risk insider fraud, external fraud, ethics violations, due diligence, and cyber investigations. He also pioneered the development of two centers of excellence to support investigative excellence across the enterprise.
Ari then joined PayPal to establish and lead a global in-house investigations program. At PayPal, he assembled a multidisciplinary team focused on managing and investigating high-risk events to protect the company’s financial and reputational integrity.

One of his key accomplishments at PayPal was the creation of the company’s first Fusion Center—an innovative, cross-functional operations hub designed to address global incidents with potential or actual impact on the business.

Ari is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Executive Leadership Program and a recognized voice in the fields of cyber investigations and insider threats. He now leads BlueCoat, a firm founded on the principle that mid-market companies are underserved when it comes to navigating reputational risk tied to cybersecurity threats.

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.

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.

Brandon Aydt is a seasoned intelligence, investigation, and security expert with extensive experience spanning the public, private, and military sectors. His career began as a government contractor, conducting in-depth research on individuals and organizations of interest to the federal government. He later applied these investigative skills in the financial sector at Citibank, where he conducted enhanced due diligence investigations on individuals and corporate entities.

Brandon’s military service with the United States Coast Guard further refined his expertise in security operations, serving as a Personnel Security Specialist and Security Manager. In these roles, he safeguarded Coast Guard personnel and provided critical training on security protocols.

Most recently, Brandon served as a U.S. Government Executive-Level Intelligence Briefer, working closely with intelligence agencies to deliver critical intelligence briefings to senior national security officials, including the President, National Security Advisor, and Homeland Security Advisor. His insights helped inform decision-making on both domestic and international threats.

Brandon earned a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Studies from Tiffin University and a master’s degree in Intelligence and Crime Analysis from Saint Joseph’s University. His depth of experience across intelligence, security, and investigations makes him uniquely equipped to address today’s most complex security challenges.

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.