Κατερίνα Τασιοπούλου

Currently, I serve as the Founder & CEO of EXELASIS LTD, overseeing operations in Athens, GR, and London, UK. Exelasis stands as a premier cybersecurity firm specializing in Offensive Security testing and Incident Response. My leadership has earned recognition through multiple awards, particularly as a role model for women in cybersecurity, coupled with significant contributions to the field.

My professional journey includes pivotal involvement in building IBM’s globally-operating Incident Response and Intelligence Services unit. I personally addressed major global incidents, such as those affecting Maersk, British Airways, and Saudi Aramco, contributing to their recovery from their infamous cyber-attacks.

Beyond my corporate role, I serve as a trusted security advisor to prominent figures worldwide, including various individuals in the Greek Government. Additionally, I collaborate with several intelligence service organizations, providing valuable cyber intelligence gleaned from the business landscape.

Rooted in a technical background, I initially worked as a penetration tester, addressing attack vectors on wireless airplane components through advanced cryptographic techniques. My programming proficiency extends across various languages, as I’ve been involved in the development of games, websites, apps, and robots.

Awards

• Current – Nominee/Shortlist – Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe – 2024
• Women in Tech Excellence 2023 Rising Star Award Finalist
• Winner of FDM EveryWoman Rising Star Award 2020 sponsored by T-Systems
• Winner of Top 100 Women in UKi sponsored by the Sunday Times
• Winner of Rising Star Award 2019 sponsored by the Sunday Times
• Winner of British Computing Society Young IT Professional of the Year 2018 sponsored by CompTIA
• IBM General Managers Award 2019
• IBM Super-Hero Award 2018

Events – Public Speaking

• Speaker, GISEC, Dubai, 2024 (April)
• Speaker, British Computing Society (BCS), Cybersecurity & AI
• Podcast, Philip Wylie Show 2023
• Judge, British Computing Society (BCS),Security Innovation Award
• Speaker, Blackhat Europe 2021, 2022
• Speaker, Infosec Europe 2021, 2022
• Speaker, HTB Global CTF Event, 2021,2022
• Host, Speaker, Presenter, BCS Cyber Crime Cup, Emirates Football Stadium
• Podcast, Security Intelligence.com
• Speaker, IBM THINK San Francisco, 2019
• Panellist, (WISE) Women in Security Event 2020
• Speaker, London Tech Week, 2019

Education

MBA – Senior Leadership, Open University.
IDG Leadership at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Bachelor’s Degree – Computer Science (First Class Honours), Royal Holloway University.

Career History

• Founder & CEO, Exelasis, 2022 – Present

Spearheading the development and execution of the company’s strategic vision and goals, ensuring
alignment with industry trends and market demands. Driving revenue growth and market expansion by
identifying new business opportunities, cultivating client relationships, and securing contracts for security
services.

• Executive, World Wide | Hack The Box | 2020- 2023

Developing a growth strategy focused on financial gain and customer satisfaction. Creating commercial
collateral in adherence to law-established rules and guidelines.

• EU Leader, X-Force IRIS | IBM | 2018–2020

World Wide Strategy & Operations. Designed and delivered multiple services, in particular C-Suite oriented
offerings. A trusted advisor to over 100 European Clients.

• Incident Response Consultant, X-Force IRIS | IBM | 2017-2018

Live security incident responder: Leading triage, identification, analysis and remediation activities.

• Incident Response Engineer | IBM Resilient | 2017

Integration SME working with various technologies such as IBM QRadar, Arcsight, Splunk, LDAP, SMTP,
IMAP FireEye – for orchestrating and automating the incident response processes.

• Penetration Tester | Confidential | 2016

Working on wireless attack vectors on aeroplane components for new aeroplanes. Successfully conducted
a DOS on an IOT network, which included bypassing packet security (such as MACs).