SAN FRANCISCO, MAY 7, 2024 - Badge Inc., the award-winning privacy company enabling Identity without Secrets™, today announced the formation of its CISO Council, a new initiative dedicated to modernizing traditional cybersecurity approaches, which have proven ineffective against today’s data breaches. Award-winning cyber security leader and Premise Health Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Joey Johnson will join former Senior Executive Advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Jeremy Grant as inaugural members, along with top leadership from Badge. MIT cryptography expert and Badge Co-Founder Dr. Charles Herder will lead the group.

At last count, nearly half of all data breaches were the result of outdated security approaches that house user biometrics, pins, and other secret credentials in centrally stored systems: catnip for hackers. Badge’s CISO Council mission of advancing privacy-preserving security allows users to safely move to a future without the liability of having these “crown jewels” stolen or exposed.

“The role of today’s security executive hinges on leading with foresight and collaboration to stay ahead of evolving threats,” said Dr. Herder. Badge’s CISO Council brings together the top minds from the field to advance the industry toward better security, better privacy, and better user experience, without compromising in any category – despite legacy notions that advancement in any one area necessitates compromise in another. “Joey and Jeremy are two industry leaders that have demonstrated exceptional results in driving innovative solutions in the name of stronger consumer and organizational security. It’s an honor to have them as part of Badge’s CISO Council.”

Named a Top Global CISO for 2023 by Cyber Defense Magazine as well as a 2023 Top 100 CISO by CISO Connects, Johnson has elevated Premise Health as a national industry leader in healthcare data security. “I am honored to join the truly innovative outlook and promise of Badge, and the thought leaders on the Badge CISO Council in advancing the vision of user-centric identity along with Badge’s critical privacy-preserving technology that will transform the industry,” said Johnson.

Grant has been recognized as a trailblazer in cybersecurity, having been selected to lead the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), the first new cybersecurity program launched by the Obama Administration. In that role, he led efforts at NIST to advance more secure, privacy-enhancing, user-friendly identity and authentication solutions.

"A core challenge in solving the identity conundrum has been key management, which often stands in the way of new solutions that offer great security and user experience. Badge has created an innovation that can deliver the benefits of asymmetric public key cryptography without the burdens of key management, and also without the risk of a central repository of key material. A consumer can create keys for identity and authentication on one device and use them on others, by deriving keys on the fly," said Grant. "As we look to advance more user-centric approaches to identity, Badge is a promising way to address core security and usability challenges and get to the next frontier."

Additional members of the CISO Council to be announced – stay tuned.

To learn more about Badge, visit https://www.badgeinc.com/.

About Badge

Badge enables privacy-preserving authentication to every application, on any device, without storing user secrets or PII. Badge’s patented technology allows users to derive private keys on the fly using their biometrics and factors of choice without the need for hardware tokens or secrets. Badge was founded by field-tested cryptography PhDs from MIT and is venture-backed by tier 1 investors. Customers and partners include top Fortune companies across healthcare, banking, retail, and services. Learn more at www.badgeinc.com.