Tributes have poured in for “trailblazing” late Tenable Chairman and former CEO Amit Yoran, who has died after a battle with cancer.
West Point graduate; former Director of Vulnerability Programs for the Department of Defense’s Computer Emergency Response Team; Serial entrepreneur: Yoran’s career was a “rock star” one. As CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz put it today, he was “one of the true OGs in cybersecurity.”
Yoran had in late November shared the news with his large community of followers and admirers that he was taking a “temporary leave of absence” after learning that “my cancer requires additional treatment”, adding “while this is disappointing, it is still a very treatable situation.”
Saturday, January 4, Tenable's Chief People Officer wrote to staff, saying it was “with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved CEO, Amit Yoran yesterday. Amit was not only a visionary leader but also a guiding force who profoundly impacted our industry” she said.
Yoran had grown Tenable to a customer base of over 44,000 organizations worldwide, including 65% of the Fortune 500. The company has a core focus on vulnerability management/attack surface management, among other cybersecurity offerings and is the creator of Nessus, one of the most widely deployed vulnerability scanners in the cybersecurity market.
A forthright and frank leader with firm belief that sunlight is the best disinfectant, Yoran’s hot (sometimes blisteringly so) takes on security issues were always insightful. His blunt “open letter to Okta” after its security incident in 2022 was one such example; one written without any malice, but as clear advocacy of what he felt was industry best practice. His 2023 commentary on an Azure vulnerability also did not hold back.
As CrowdStrike’s Kurtz put it in a LinkedIn post today: “Amit was a trailblazer… His contributions shaped the industry in countless ways, and his absence will be felt across the entire cybersecurity community.”
Yoran founded RIPtech Inc., a managed security services firm, in 1998 and served as its President. Symantec bought the business for $145 million in 2002. The following year at just 33, he was appointed by President Bush as director of the National Cybersecurity Division, where he helped coordinate federal departments, law enforcement and intelligence efforts, with a focus on protecting US critical national infrastructure (CNI.)
He retained a firm interest in protecting the US from attackers and in his last public post welcomed new guidance from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that urged leaders to use encrypted messengers. In it, he wrote: “For years the FBI, DoJ and have been… encouraging companies to move toward less effective security practices.
“Great to have CISA and others championing the way.”
After taking his leave of absence in late 2024 Tenable appointed Steve Vintz and Mark Thurmond as Co-CEOs. As Yoran wrote at the time: “They will step in to guide the organization, supported by the rest of our exceptional leadership team. I have complete trust in their ability—and yours—to keep our mission and transformation moving forward with the same passion...
"We have much to do and there is no time to waste.”
With condolences to Amit Yoran's family, friends, and colleagues.
