Chris Castaldo named Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Flock Safety

Chris Castaldo has joined public safety solutions provider Flock Safety as its CISO. He previously served as CISO at Crossbeam and was a fellow at the National Security Institute at the time of the announcement.

Flock Safety says Castaldo will lead its security strategy and work across the organization on governance, risk management and cybersecurity. Flock Safety says the company continues to scale its customer footprint and its platform.

Flock Safety says Castaldo has held the CISO role at Synchronoss Technologies, IronNet Cybersecurity, 2U and Dataminr as well as Crossbeam. As CISO at Crossbeam, Castaldo presented a 101-style breakdown of the company's data sharing controls and security standards, a Crossbeam page says. According to the company, Castaldo wrote the book Start-Up Secure, which outlines a practical approach to building cybersecurity into a company from its earliest stages. The company says he coaches and mentors board members, venture capital firms and founders on growing cybersecurity in step with the business.

Flock Safety says Castaldo started his career in public service. The company says that in the U.S. Army’s Operation Iraqi Freedom he was HUMINT Direct Support to the 5th Special Forces Group, the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st, 2nd and 25th Infantry Divisions. Castaldo later worked in Tailored Access Operations at the National Security Agency, according to the company. According to Flock Safety, Castaldo has a B.S. in Cybersecurity from American Military University and holds many cybersecurity certifications. The company said that, at the time of the announcement, his fellowship at the National Security Institute was at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University. The company said that, at the time of the announcement, Castaldo was a founding board member of Security Tinkerers and sat on the board of directors of Rallye For Vets, a charity which paid direct medical and housing bills for veterans in need.

Flock Safety says its security measures include default Multi-Factor Authentication for all users, strict encryption standards, and public disclosure and mitigation of vulnerabilities. The company says the frameworks and certifications it adheres to include NIST 800-53, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 compliance certification.