Cofense appoints Ronnie Tokazowski as Principal Threat Advisor

Cofense has appointed Ronnie Tokazowski as Principal Threat Advisor. Tokazowski brings to the Cofense team a wealth of firsthand knowledge and research on Business Email Compromise (BEC), which will bolster the company’s mission to support organizations in the fight against all types of email attacks including BEC.

Cofense’s 2021 Annual Report showed that 6% of reported malicious emails over the last year were BEC. And according to the latest FBI Internet Crime Report, this phishing tactic caused nearly $2B in financial losses for businesses in 2020. Damage caused by BEC attacks can also include reputational and brand damage, presenting serious business risk that organizations should be taking steps to address. In his role at Cofense, Tokazowski will be focusing on BEC threats in an effort to further Cofense’s research, threat intelligence, and product features to better protect customers against this impactful threat.

“Cofense is thrilled to welcome Ronnie to the company. I’ve personally known Ronnie for a long time and look forward to his professional contributions in furthering Cofense’s mission of stopping all forms of email attacks by guiding enhancements based on his unparalleled insights in that area,” said Rohyt Belani, Co-founder and CEO, Cofense.

Tokazowski’s proven track record as a security researcher includes experience reverse engineering crimeware and APT malware, creating decoders and IOCs for detecting malicious attacks, and using active defense techniques against cyber criminals attempting to exploit organizations via BEC attacks. Previously, Tokazowski was senior threat researcher at Agari, following his roles as senior malware analyst at Flashpoint and senior researcher at Cofense.

“Business Email Compromise not only creates significant financial loss for businesses, but at the human level, BEC can take a serious mental toll when someone realizes they have been caught up in a scam with massive implications for their organization,” added Tokazowski. “There is no single technology solution to prevent BEC attacks, so we must empower organizations with a combination of technology, process and user awareness. I have been impressed with Cofense’s continued innovation and expansion of their phishing detection and response solutions, and I am excited to return to the company to help organizations prepare for and prevent BEC.”

Tokazowski has significant experience and knowledge in creating actionable intelligence reports detailing emerging trends in cybersecurity and will be bringing that to Cofense. He has also collaborated with multiple law enforcement and government agencies to identify fraudulent and criminal activities targeting victims across the world and collaborates directly with current and former scammers to understand how cybercrime works from their perspective; including forging bank statements and other documents as part of active defense engagements to glean intelligence.

Tokazowski has also contributed greatly to the tech community through raising money and awareness for Nigerian tech hub, Future Labs, for training the next generation of youth, and creating IntroTech and other networking locations for victims and security researchers to connect.