Press Release
Global Cyber Alliance Expands Board of Directors
New York, September 8, 2021 – The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) announced today the appointment of Khoo Boon Hui, Ciaran Martin, and Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar to its Board of Directors.
Mr Khoo Boon Hui currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Digital Assets Exchange of Singapore. A widely sought after advisor and counselor to public and private institutions alike, he is the former Commissioner of the Singapore Police Force and President of INTERPOL. Mr Khoo Graduated from Oxford University, the Harvard Kennedy School with a master’s degree in public administration, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School’s advanced management program.
“Much of my working life in the Singapore Police and INTERPOL has been devoted to keeping our societies safe and secure through fighting crime; increasingly against international organized crime as the world became hyper-connected through the internet,” said Mr. Khoo. “I’m delighted to be associated with the Global Cyber Alliance whose mission of enabling a secure and trustworthy internet to promote social and economic progress for all resonates powerfully with me.”
Mr. Martin, CB, is a Professor of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. From 2014 to 2020 he set up and then led the UK’s new National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, the UK intelligence agency on whose board he served. Prior to joining GCHQ, he was Director of Security and Intelligence at the Cabinet Office. Mr. Martin was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to international and global cyber security. He graduated from Hertford College, University of Oxford.
Mr. Martin said, “I have has long believed in the value of the GCA in bringing practical, specific cyber security ideas and making them freely available to real businesses and organisations”
Ms Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar is Estonia’s Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy, and Director of the Cyber Diplomacy Department at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After holding several senior roles at the Ministry of Defense, she led the restructuring of the Estonia’s cyber system and built national public-private partnerships for cyber resilience. She prepared a comprehensive NATO cyber defense policy and was responsible for developing European Union’s external cyber relations and global capacity building programs at the European External Action Service. Ambassador Tiirmaa-Klaar is a graduate of the University of Tartu, and earned a master’s degree in International Relations and National Security from the George Washington University as a Fulbright Fellow.
“In the context of rapidly growing cyber threats, the work of the GCA fills an important gap in our cyber resilience as it strengthens the cyber preparedness of small and medium size enterprises that our economies depend on,” said the Ambassador. “The practical tools that the GCA is delivering have significantly helped a large number of organisations to raise their cyber security standards. It is essential to support and strengthen this global initiative.“
GCA Board of Directors Chair Scott Charney said, “I am pleased these accomplished and esteemed professionals have agreed to join the GCA Board. Their individual and collective accomplishments in the field of cybersecurity are perfectly aligned with GCA’s mission and position the organization for increased international growth.”
GCA President and CEO Philip Reitinger said, “As GCA continues to tackle systemic global cybersecurity risks, we are pleased to bring these international experts to our Board of Directors to further enhance our capability as an organization.”
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About the Global Cyber Alliance
The Global Cyber Alliance has a singular purpose: to reduce cyber risk. We accomplish this by building practical, measurable solutions and tools that are easy to use, and work with partners to accelerate adoption around the world. GCA, a 501(c)3, was founded in September 2015 by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the City of London Police and the Center for Internet Security. Board members serve on a voluntary, pro bono basis. Learn more at www.globalcyberalliance.org
