Our values

We believe in leading by providing expertise across all levels of security. Facing security issues can feel daunting; we take a straight-talk approach, providing clarity and transparency for your organization with solutions you can trust. We are positive and encouraging as educators and service providers, always striving to work hard and work smart. We aim to provide our clients with thought leadership in security, and pride ourselves on always staying at the leading edge of best practices.

What you can expect

You can always expect us to provide consistent and top-quality service tailored to your business. Tap into our specialized security understanding to solve your most challenging security problems with expert advice. We also know efficiency is key. People want high quality deliverables without the extraneous layers, so we get straight to the point (but with a smile, of course).

Farshad Abasi
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer

An innovative technologist with over twenty years of experience in security, software design and development, network and system architecture and management. Farshad spent a decade as a senior member of HSBC’s IT security team and currently leads OWASP’s Vancouver chapter.

Designations & Certifications: CISSP, AWS Security Professional, Azure Security Engineer

Blake Mitchell
Co-Founder

Blake, a seasoned strategist with 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development, now steers growth at Forward Security & drives innovation as Co-Founder of Eureka DevSecOps. Passionate about forging partnerships & reducing cyber threats.

Designations & Certifications: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Mathieu Chretien
Chief of Operations

Matt brings 17+ years of experience in IT program & project management, as well as cash flow & supply chain optimization with companies of all sizes from Deloitte, EY, BC Hydro, and GE, to emerging tech start-ups. When he’s not helping clients, he enjoys kayaking, skiing, and spending time with his children and close friends.

Designations & Certifications: PMP, CSCP, AWS Cloud Practitioner

Ewan Maalerud
Director of Marketing

Ewan graduated from the University of British Columbia and BCIT and brings over a decade of experience in marketing, design, and sales. An entrepreneur at heart, he thrives in start-up environments where he can help small companies compete. He applies his passion for creative problem solving, psychology, brand building, and design to impact the way consumers think about and interact with brands.

Marnie White
Operations Lead

With a passion for optimizing operational efficiency, supporting financial processes, and driving organizational success, Marnie brings over a decade of experience in diverse office environments. She possesses a wide range of skills in operations, facilities management, and office management.

Jessie Reyes
Marketing Coordinator (Co-Op)

Jessie is currently a fourth-year Media Studies and Arts Co-op student at the University of British Columbia. With a keen eye for aesthetics and a knack for design, she is mastering the art of marketing through visual harmony, strategic communication, and user-centered creativity. She’s driven by transforming collective efforts into extraordinary achievements and loves to take on any kind of creative project.

Conleth Kennedy
Lead Full Stack Software Engineer

Conleth has seven years experience as a Software Engineer in a variety of different roles ranging from cloud to integration, holding 2 degrees in SE from SETU. His passion for technology started from trying to improve router performance as a teen. He has a keen interest for AppSec and Data Science. Conleth has worked on data integration for award winning machine learning project. Outside of work, he is passionate about health and fitness, enjoys weightlifting and combat sports.  

Laura Rodgers
Full Stack Software Engineer

Laura is a do-it-all problem-solver who has built software for everything from academic research trials to enterprise network analytics. They made her take electives when she studied computer science at UBC, but she submitted a multiplayer web app as an English literature term paper. She’s big on looking at software architecture from a conceptual perspective and loves how application security combines tech puzzles with human factors.

Elliot McSmythers
Full Stack Software Engineer

Elliot studied Software Engineering at the University of Victoria and has abundant experience in architecture design, full-stack development, and application security. He has a passion for problem solving and learning, and has many professional, academic, and personal projects under his belt.

Calvin Vu
Developer (Co-Op)