Industry Updates
Magazine
Brand Story
Press Release
BLOGS
Hornetsecurity is a leading global email cloud security and backup provider, securing companies and organizations worldwide. Hornetsecurity’s award winning product portfolio covers all the important areas of email security, including spam and virus filtering, protection against phishing and ransomware, legally compliant archiving and encryption as well as email, endpoint, and virtual machine backup, replication, and recovery.
Through its flagship cloud security solution for Microsoft 365, Hornetsecurity plans to be the guardian of companies that use Microsoft 365, protecting their data and ensuring business continuity through its next-gen security solutions.
The cybersecurity specialist has over 400 employees across 12 regional offices, the cyber security company operates through its international network of over 8000 channel partners, MSPs, and 11 redundant, secured data centers. Hornetsecurity’s premium services are used by more than 50,000 clients, including Swisscom, Telefónica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, and CLAAS.
The Steadfast Leader
Based in Hannover, Germany, Dr. Yvonne Bernard serves as the CTO of Hornetsecurity, responsible for strategic and technical development in the areas of Product Management, Software Development, Innovation & Research, Security Lab and Cloud Software. She joined the company in 2014 as the personal assistant to the CEO, Daniel Hofman, which gave her an excellent opportunity to learn about business and leadership. The first-hand experience, deep dive into product portfolio, strategy, and the mentorship Dr. Bernard gained as the CEO’s PA eventually led to her role as the Head of the Product Management Department, which she held for five years before being appointed as the CTO in 2021.
“Hornetsecurity operates in a dynamic, ever-evolving arena that matches my scientific outlook and desire to keep learning and growing. Entering the field of cybersecurity attracted me as these impacts so many people across the globe. Hornetsecurity particularly appealed to me as it was a company that was going places, working in innovative ways.”- States Dr. Bernard.
With a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Dr. Bernard started her career as a research assistant at Leibniz University in Hannover. At the time, she won the Best Paper award at a conference in Italy, which inspired her to continue doing her best. To date, Dr. Bernard has published over 20 scientific papers focusing on System Architecture, Security, Cloud, AI, and Machine Learning.
Key Differentiators
Hornetsecurity’s in-house Security Lab enables the company to proactively pre-empt cyber threats, which sets the firm apart as it goes far beyond simply monitoring current traffic. It also helps to keep track of the latest trends of darknet and cyber attacks.
Additionally, Hornetsecurity’s unique AI engines enable the firm to stay one step ahead since they recognize new patterns before researchers spot them and certainly before they crop up in real-world traffic. Paired with the firm’s diverse research method and innovative approach, this is incorporated into Hornetsecurity’s product development, where it aims to anticipate client needs.
The firm also provides various solutions to its partners and customers from a single management console, the Control Panel. It provides them with a central platform from where to manage and monitor the solutions Hornetsecurity provides. It is very convenient and efficient for the firm’s partners, who can do this across all their customers. It also makes their lives easier as it is simpler to deal with a single vendor across their security, compliance, and backup needs.
Developing as a Leader
“As Hornetsecurity continues to grow internationally as well as in terms of technology, market reach, and people, there’s always room to explore and expand on new areas. That fuels both personal and professional growth.”- Dr. Bernard states.
She feels that reading and keeping herself up-to-date comes naturally to her due to her background as a scientific researcher. Staying ahead of the curve is very important for the cybersecurity industry. Knowledge sharing is also a very important factor, and as the CTO of the organization, Dr. Bernard cherishes the opportunity to nurture others and contribute to their development. While always aiming to lead by example, she also enjoys helping and guiding juniors as well as mentoring them.
The Most Important Trait
Dr. Bernard believes good communication and the ability to execute plans quickly are critical. A CTO must liaise with several stakeholders and clients, both internal and external.
“People often think of tech or systems architecture when they think of a CTO, but there’s more to it than that. Human interactions are at the heart of the role. Another aspect of this is being able to ‘translate’ plans, directions, and so on for non-technical people says”- Dr Bernard.
Exciting Times Ahead
Hornetsecurity’s mission is to empower companies of all sizes to focus on their core business by protecting their email communications, securing their data, ensuring business continuity, and compliance with next-generation cloud-based solutions.
product releases due in the coming weeks and months, where it will provide second-generation security awareness training, amp up the defenses it provides against attacks, deliver further security management offerings, and more.
Hornetsecurity’s focus remains to offer the most comprehensive cloud security solution for Microsoft 365 on the market, including email security, compliance, and backup.
“Cybersecurity affects everyone’s business if you ignore it, it most likely affects you even more than if you prepare for it.”
