Acronis appoints Candid Wüest as VP of Cyber Protection Research

Acronis has announced the appointment of Candid Wüest as Vice President of Cyber Protection Research at Acronis. Wüest will lead accelerated research into the latest trends in the threat landscape and new protection methods designed to continuously enhance the world’s most innovative cyber protection solutions.

In his role at Acronis, Wüest will be the technical lead for the Acronis Cyber Protection Operation Centers (CPOC) EMEA, defining and leading research projects on new IT threats and defining the strategy for the security response team. He and his team will also perform malware trend analysis, generating recommendations for clients and Acronis’ product development teams that will influence future product capabilities. Under Wüest’s leadership, Acronis will continue to extend the functionality of its products and services, addressing the Five Vectors of Cyber Protection – ensuring the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity and security of all data, applications and systems (SAPAS).

“Wüest brings incredibly strong security leadership and an absolute wealth of experience to our cyber protection team. His deep knowledge and innate understanding of the security needed to underpin not only the entire Acronis product range but the security of our global customers will propel our business into the future. Under Wüest’s management, we’ll continue to build our team and extend our global leadership in cyber protection,” said Acronis Founder and CEO Serguei “SB” Beloussov.

Wüest has extensive experience in the field of IT security accumulated during the past 20 years. Prior to joining Acronis, he was the lead Threat Researcher at the global Symantec Security Response team and, prior to that role, analysed computer viruses for the Symantec Anti-Malware Lab in Dublin. Wüest has also held key positions with the Global Security Analysing Lab of IBM Research in Rüschlikon. Wüest holds a Master in Computer Science degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

Wüest is a security advisor for the Swiss federal government on cyber protection of critical infrastructure, a member of the Defcon Switzerland Board and organiser of the Area41 Conference. He’s won multiple industry awards, holds several security patents and has authored numerous books, white papers, threat reports and articles. As a result of his cutting-edge work, Wüest is a respected security conference speaker who will now represent Acronis in local and global professional groups and organisations.

Wüest will also share his insights through white papers and security briefings. His overall mission will remain to contribute to global IT security initiatives and ensure the continual enhancement and accelerated adoption of Acronis Cyber Protection products and services, including Acronis Cyber Protect, by MSP and enterprise clients.

“It’s now clear that traditional backup and security practices are ineffective against modern threats, which means the world needs modern cyber protection. I am excited to play an important role in the world’s most vibrant cyber protection company and look forward to enhancing the security capabilities of Acronis Cyber Protection Solutions, helping MSPs grow their business and making clients #CyberFit,” said Wüest.