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Our Leadership Team

Meet the leadership team that makes us who we are.

Edward Robinson-Adams

Head of Cybersecurity North America

Edward Robinson-Adams

Head of Cybersecurity North America

Ed Adams is a software quality and security expert with over 20 years of experience in the field. He served as a member of the Security Innovation Board of Directors since its inception in 2002 and took over as CEO in 2003.

Before his work at Security Innovation, Ed held senior management positions at Rational Software, Lionbridge, Ipswitch, and MathSoft. He was also an engineer for the US Army and Foster-Miller earlier in his career.

Ed is a Ponemon Institute Research Fellow, Privacy by Design Ambassador by the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Forbes Technology Council Member, and recipient of multiple SC Magazine’s Reboot Leadership Awards. He sits on the board of Cyversity, a non-profit committed to advancing minorities in the field of cyber security, and is a BoSTEM Advisory Committee member.

Ed has presented to tens of thousands of security professionals at reputable industry events such as RSA Conference (the US and Asia), Ponemon Institute’s RIM Renaissance, Connected Security Expo, Mozilla’s Privacy Lab, Allstate CyberCon, Applied Materials Global Technology Conference, Insperity Security Conference, Levi Strauss Cybersecurity Conference, and others. He has contributed commentary for The Associated Press, CSO Magazine, Forbes.com, SC Magazine, Boston Globe, CIO Update, Wall Street Reporter, Cyber Defense Magazine, Investors Business Daily, and CFO Magazine. He also is the host of Ed TALKS, a monthly panel that debates risk-based approaches to securing software and its ecosystem.

Ed graduated from UMass Lowell with Mechanical Engineering and English Literature degrees and earned his MBA with honors from Boston College.

Fun Fact: Ed is obsessed with The Princess Bride, horse racing, Boston Sports, and the color orange.

Julie Martin

Financial Controller

Julie Martin

Financial Controller

Ms. Martin has 15 years of experience in external and internal audit and financial analysis. She has worked for companies including PWC, KPMG, and COLAS. Julie also has 5 years working for Bureau Veritas, most recently as Corporate Finance Manager based in Paris, France. As Head of Finance, Julie manages all aspects of operational accounting, payroll, treasury, and accounts receivable. She also monitors the legal corporate activities (creation of subsidiaries, liquidation, capital operations) and participates in external growth operations, budgeting, and financial planning. Julie is responsible for analysis of financial performance and governance interface with Bureau Veritas Group.

She has Master’s degree in management from Paris-Dauphine University and a law degree from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

Fun fact: Julie speaks French, English, and Spanish languages and also has proficiency in Mandarin.

Zakariya Dehlawi

CTO

Zakariya Dehlawi

CTO

Fueled by his passion for practices that make software more secure, Zak leads the company’s Security Services organization to deliver world-class security assessments for Amazon, Microsoft, and other notable brands. He has extensive experience in software development, application penetration testing, and IT security.

As an avid participant in the secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) space, Zak has performed research on security maturity models such as BSIMM, as well as contributed to the OpenSAMM benchmarking initiative. Zak is also passionate about information security mentorship. He is a guest lecturer for the University of Washington and revamped the company’s internship program to increase opportunities for novice security engineers. Before joining Security Innovation, Zak worked at Leviathan, Microsoft, and Raytheon in a variety of security and engineering roles.

Zak earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington, and a master’s degree in Security Informatics from Johns Hopkins University. He has also completed Ph.D. coursework at the University of Washington.

Fun Fact: Zak has owned over 100 cats in his life. He currently only has three long-haired cats, and yes, he is constantly cleaning up fur.

Floris Duvekot

Commercial Director

Floris Duvekot

Commercial Director

Floris Duvekot is the Director of Cybersecurity & Integration at Bureau Veritas in North America, where he leads the strategic integration of cybersecurity services. With a background in behavioral science and crisis management and a strong record of building teams focused on awareness, security culture, and crisis management. He is passionate about partnering with organizations in critical sectors—such as energy and infrastructure—to build digital resilience. Now based in Boston, Floris continues to drive cross-border collaboration and innovation in cybersecurity while actively engaging with industry leaders and communities across North America.

Gene Carter

Portfolio Manager

Gene Carter

Portfolio Manager

Gene Carter is the Portfolio Manager for Bureau Veritas Cybersecurity North America. He brings over 20 years of experience in product management, marketing, and business development in the cybersecurity and semiconductor industries.

Prior to joining Bureau Veritas, Gene held various leadership roles at companies like Security Innovation, OnBoard Security, Qualcomm, and NXP Semiconductors. At Security Innovation, he spearheaded the product management and marketing of the company’s application security e-Learning SaaS products. He also led the development of new mobile and PCI training courses, and transitioned the NTRU encryption and signing software to an open-source model.

At OnBoard Security, Gene served as Vice President of Products, where he established the brand, managed the product portfolio, and guided the successful sale of the company to Qualcomm. Earlier in his career, he held product management roles at NXP Semiconductors and Philips Semiconductors, where he managed the company’s $100M+ ARM Cortex and ARM7 microcontroller product lines, working closely with global key customers on design wins.

Gene holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and a Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business.

Fun Fact: Gene once had a banana stolen from him by a group of wild vervet monkeys.

Aditya Kakrania

Managing Director Asia Pacific

Aditya Kakrania

Managing Director Asia Pacific

Aditya is responsible for Security Innovation’s Asia Pacific and Middle East business, leveraging a versatile cybersecurity career that spans two decades. This includes developing and marketing solutions to meet emerging market needs and successful delivery to clients.

Aditya’s interest in security began at Florida Tech, where he researched model-based and state-based testing, fault-injection, and fuzzing techniques as part of his Bachelor’s degree. He joined Security Innovation in 2003, working as a software developer, security instructor/lecturer, and penetration tester. In 2010, he returned to India to found and operate Redfort InfoSec, which Security Innovation later acquired in 2015.

With a B.S. in Software Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, Aditya has presented at conferences and corporate workshops and has lectured at universities.

His latest obsession is with cybersecurity risk management.

Fun Fact: Ady’s fascination with apocalyptical themes only came to light when his better half noticed a pattern in his preference for movies, books, and art.

Danny Jimenez

Head of IT/IS

Danny Jimenez

Head of IT/IS

Security Innovation

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PROJECT
Medical Device Security

CUSTOMER CONCERNS
Automated medical devices that connect to hospital networks and cloud services present unique security challenges. In this particular case, the target was an embedded system that allowed hospital personnel to authenticate to workstations by means of Bluetooth Low Energy that performed active presence detection and user tracking. The client was concerned that potential vulnerabilities could allow unauthorized device or workstation control, data tampering, or the exposure of sensitive patient information. The objective was to assess the device’s resilience to cyberattacks and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

THE MISSION: WHY WE HACKED IT
Security Innovation was tasked with evaluating the medical device’s software, embedded hardware, network connections, and data management practices. The mission was to identify security gaps that could be exploited to compromise patient safety or disrupt medical procedures.

THE BREAKDOWN: WHAT WE FOUND
Our security assessment involved:

Network Vulnerability Testing: Assessed connections to hospital and cloud networks for weaknesses that could allow unauthorized access.
Data Integrity Analysis: Evaluated how patient data was stored and transmitted, focusing on encryption and tampering prevention.
Hardware Attack Simulation: Ubertooth One and NRF51 were used to sniff the BLE traffic between the target components of the customer hardware and application. Gatttool was used to discover, read, and write to available BLE characteristics.
Device Control Simulation: Simulated potential attack scenarios to test if remote control of the device was possible.

KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:

Insufficient Data Encryption: Found that certain data transmissions were inadequately protected, posing a risk of interception and tampering.
Unrestricted BLE Characteristics: Insecure Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) settings left the proximity tracking vulnerable to manipulation, enabling unauthorized monitoring of user activity and interference with expected operations
Flawed Authentication: Intercomponent interactions and protocols were insecure, potentially enabling a jamming attack that would circumvent system authentication.
Piggybacking Attacks: MITM on the Bluetooth connection allowed capturing the UUIDs, MAC and other values to add them to another application without consent.
Unauthorized Access Paths: Identified pathways that could allow attackers to gain control over the device or access patient data.
Regulatory Gaps: Highlighted areas where security measures did not align with industry regulations, impacting compliance.

BY REMEDIATING THESE ISSUES, THE CLIENT WAS ABLE TO:

Enhance Data Encryption: Implement comprehensive encryption standards to safeguard patient data.
Secure Network Access: Close unauthorized access paths and strengthen authentication measures.
Achieve Compliance: Align device security protocols with industry standards to meet regulatory requirements.

These improvements significantly increased the security and reliability of the medical device, ensuring patient safety and data protection.

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PROJECT
Motorcycle Ignition Control System (ICS) Reverse Engineering

CUSTOMER CONCERNS
The motorcycle’s ignition control system (ICS) governs the spark timing to ignite the engine’s fuel-air mixture. The client needed to understand if the system could be reverse-engineered to tweak the performance of the motorcycle, such as increasing horsepower by adjusting spark timing or altering the rev limits.

THE MISSION: WHY WE HACKED IT
The ignition control system on this motorcycle, a Suzuki Katana, was being investigated for potential performance tuning. The system was embedded within a sealed box and controlled the timing of the ignition sparks via a microcontroller. The client wanted to reverse engineer the system to modify the engine’s performance. The goal was to learn more about the ICS and determine if it could be reprogrammed to boost performance without compromising reliability.

THE BREAKDOWN: WHAT WE FOUND
We approached the reverse engineering process by:

Hardware Deconstruction: Attempted to physically access and probe the circuit board within the sealed ignition control system to understand how it operated.
Microcontroller Identification: Identified the microcontroller governing the system, despite challenges caused by the protective sealing, and searched for debugging or reprogramming interfaces.

DURING TESTING WE UNCOVERED SEVERAL CRITICAL ISSUES:

Sealant Protection Mechanism: The system was heavily sealed with materials designed to deter reverse engineering, which led to some damage when trying to access the board.
No Debug Interface: Despite thorough testing of potential interfaces, there was no straightforward method to reprogram the microcontroller or extract the firmware.
Limited Firmware Accessibility: The microcontroller utilized mask ROM, meaning the firmware was hardcoded and could not be extracted without advanced techniques like decapping.

BY REMEDIATING THESE ISSUES, THE CLIENT WAS ABLE TO:

Pivot the approach to Black Box Testing: By simulating the inputs and measuring the outputs (e.g., camshaft position and throttle), the client successfully inferred the ignition timing algorithms.
Build a Custom Simulator: The client created a custom microcontroller system to mimic the ICS behavior and explore performance tuning possibilities.

As a result, the client gained a deeper understanding of how the ICS controlled the engine’s performance and could start building a new, programmable system to improve power and efficiency. While direct reprogramming wasn’t possible, the black-box approach provided valuable insights into how to modify the ignition timing for enhanced performance.

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PROJECT
Sprinkler Controller with BLE Support and Mobile Apps

CUSTOMER CONCERNS
With the addition of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support, the client’s updated controllers were designed to allow users to control the system remotely via mobile applications. The client needed to ensure that this new connectivity didn’t introduce vulnerabilities, which could potentially expose customer devices to unauthorized access.

THE MISSION: WHY WE HACKED IT
The client was integrating BLE into their next-generation IoT sprinkler controller. BLE is a common technology in IoT devices, but it’s also a frequent target for hackers due to its security misconfigurations. The client needed assurance that the new connectivity didn’t open up paths for attackers to compromise devices, manipulate sprinkler settings, or gain unauthorized access to user networks. Our goal was to pinpoint any security flaws early, ensuring that customers’ homes and gardens weren’t at risk from cyber threats.

THE BREAKDOWN: WHAT WE FOUND
We tackled the security review using two methodologies:

OWASP Top 10 for Mobile Applications: Assessed the mobile app for vulnerabilities like insecure data storage, insufficient transport layer protection, and improper authentication.
IoT Testing for BLE Configuration: Examined how BLE was implemented and configured to ensure there were no common misconfigurations like lack of authentication or unencrypted data transmission.

DURING TESTING WE UNCOVERED SEVERAL CRITICAL ISSUES:

Design Flaws in the BLE Pairing Process: Weak pairing mechanisms made it easier for potential attackers to eavesdrop or interfere.
Vulnerabilities in Mobile App Data Handling: Sensitive data was being stored without adequate encryption, making it possible for an attacker with device access to extract and misuse it.
Exposed Device Commands: Several BLE commands used to control the sprinkler settings were not properly secured, leaving room for unauthorized manipulation.

BY REMEDIATING THESE ISSUES, THE CLIENT WAS ABLE TO:
By remediating these issues, the client was able to:

Secure the BLE pairing process, ensuring that only legitimate users could control the device.
Implement secure storage and transmission methods for sensitive information within the mobile apps.
Lock down device commands, reducing the likelihood of malicious tampering.

As a result, the client’s BLE-supported sprinkler controllers were not only more secure, but they also provided peace of mind to end-users, who could trust that their smart systems were robust against potential cyber threats. This proactive security testing allowed the client to go to market with confidence, turning a potential risk into a competitive advantage.