Andrei Avădănei_
Andrei’s entrepreneurial spirit and his deep belief in the power of the community led him to become one of the most influential people in the regional and international infosec industry.
His contribution has fundamentally shaped the cybersecurity ecosystem in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe.
Andrei wears many hats and all of them are the same shade of white.
Andrei plays an active role in the infosec ecosystem
For more than a decade, Andrei has been working in tech and cybersecurity, constantly learning and improving his skills as he progressed.
His expertise is backed up by the 60+ awards he received for successfully participating in international and national competitions focused on algorithms, information security, web and software development.
His relentless passion for cybersecurity coupled with his disciplined pursuit of self-development led him to become a regular speaker, mentor and judge in local and international events or conferences.
Andrei is an active adviser & shareholder in various organizations and member in different local and European initiatives. He was also member of the Counselor Committee for GovITHub, a governmental initiative for digitalization of public institution from Romania where Andrei provided to the Romanian Government assistance regarding national IT strategies and digitalization.
In 2016 he was nominated in both New Europe 100 – a list built by Google and Financial Times presenting brightest and best people in Central and Eastern Europe and in Forbes 30 under 30. These nominations came after scoring high results in his activity related to Bit Sentinel.
Customers, partners, and team members know they can trust Andrei to always do his best work and pursue a strong vision for securing the world.
CEO
Bit Sentinel
In 2015, Andrei leveraged his security expertise and business know-how to found Bit Sentinel, an information security company focused on rigorously protecting businesses against cyber threats.
Andrei assembled a team of professionals whose skills cover key areas such as penetration testing, malware protection, cyber attacks recovery, social engineering, blockchain security, and more!
Moreover, the Bit Sentinel team also delivers training for both company employees and other infosec specialists. It also organizes ethical hacking competitions to attract talent to cybersecurity. President
Cyber Security Research Center from Romania
Andrei also founded in 2013 and currently leads CCSIR (Cyber Security Research Center from Romania), a Non-Governmental Organization whose sole purpose is promoting, supporting, implementation, and coordinating information security research in Romania.
The NGO’s activity also includes international projects, such as DefCamp, and various partnerships that focus on strategic short, medium, and long term results in cybersecurity education.
Founder
DefCamp
Andrei is also the founder of the largest cybersecurity and hacking conference in Central Eastern Europe: DefCamp.
Over the last decade, Andrei and a team of driven people who share his passion for all things infosec developed the event into one of the most important ones in the region.
In 9 editions, DefCamp gathered 6700 attendees from all over the world and brought high-caliber speakers from all over the world.
DefCamp also features one of the largest and most engaging CTF competitions that attracts each year over 1000 participants from over 60 countries. Cybersecurity Advisor & Mentor for cybersecurity startups
Due to his wide-ranging experience, Andrei is also a sought after mentor for cybersecurity startups looking to build the next important product to help companies cope with cyber attacks.
Andrei is currently a mentor in Orange Fab, a 1-year startup accelerator that supports entrepreneurs to build and scale effective and innovative digital products.
Andrei uses his expertise to help high-growth startups leverage blockchain technology while ensuring its secure implementation from end to end.
Some of the companies he currently advises on blockchain security are: IP Exchange, Kuende or Cashfree. Andrei is also cyber security advisor for TypingDNA a passive authentication and typing biometrics startup.
Andrei in the media
Below you can see some highlights from the media over the years to which Andrei contributed.
2021
- [RO] Ziarul Financiar: Kit de securitate cibernetică în pandemie.
- [EN] Business Review: Promoting startup culture in times of remote work: a challenge for founders
- [RO] Ziarul Financiar: ZF IT Generation. Sfatul expertului. Andrei Avădănei: Start-up-urile tech trebuie să îşi testeze mai întâi propriul produs.
- [RO] HotNews.ro: Hackerii care fac Internetul mai sigur. Ce este white hat hacking și cum poate schimba lumea tehnologiei
- [RO] Forbes: Andrei Avădănei: România s-a digitalizat mai greu decât restul țărilor
2020
- [RO] Ziarul Financiar: Andrei Avădănei, Bit Sentinel: Companiile vor investi mai mult în securitate cibernetică în 2021
- [EN] Business Review: Hot industries for local startup investors in 2020
- [RO] Business Magazin: Atacurile cibernetice ating noi culmi. Cum a ajutat pandemia hackerii şi unde s-a ajuns de la vremurile când funcţionau atacurile de tip „prinţul nigerian”
- [RO] Forbes: Cohorta de alumni Forbes 30 sub 30 România. Tinerii care schimbă lumea
2019
- [RO] Forbes: Forbes 30 pentru RO30 – Andrei Avădănei
- [RO] Pin Magazine: De unde a pornit ideea de a organiza DefCamp?
- [RO] HotNews.ro: Care sunt dispozitivele inteligente cel mai des atacate de hackeri
- [RO] Forbes – Bit Sentinel: Hackerii ne atacă cel mai des dispozitivele inteligente atunci când suntem în vacanță
- [EN] Business Review: Bit Sentinel to be the technical coordinator of this year’s European Cybersecurity Championship in Bucharest
2018
- [RO] Gala Cariere – Gala Cariere – Talentele Viitorului 2018: Andrei Avădănei, „hackerul alb”: Amenințările informatice sunt ca o gripă. Prevenţia e cea mai bună metodă de apărare
- [RO] Romania 2118 – 200+ mesaje din Romania 100 pentru Romania 200
- [RO] Start-up.ro Dacă ai un startup pe blockchain, Bit Sentinel îți oferă protecție
- [RO] Ziare.com – Cea mai mare conferinta de securitate cibernetica din Europa Centrala si de Est are loc la Bucuresti in noiembrie
- [RO] Libertatea – Cum colecta Cambridge Analytica datele de pe Facebook, ne explică hackerul alb Andrei Avădănei
- [RO] Scrisul face Bine: Pentru internautul din tine
2017
- [EN] USA Today – Romania: Haven for hackers turned cyber sleuths
- [RO] Revista Biz – Pasiune pentru fiecare bit
- [RO] Digi24 – Dark Net, magazinul virtual pentru traficanţi şi terorişti
- [RO] Adevarul.ro – La ce să fii atent pe internet în 2017 ca să nu devii victima hackerilor
- [RO] Start-up.ro – 2017, anul atacurilor de phishing pe app-urile de comunicare instant. Cum le putem preveni?
- [RO] Business Cover – Bit Sentinel: Cum ne protejăm de atacuri cibernetice în 2017
2016
- [EN] Romania Insider: Romania has ten nominations on the New Europe 100 innovators list
- [RO] Start-up.ro Cei 13 români de pe lista celor mai inovatori europeni
- [RO] Wall-street.ro – Andrei Avadanei, DefCamp: Securitatea slaba a alegerilor in format digital ar putea sa provoace haos
- [RO] Digi24 – Concurs cu premii pentru hackeri
2015
- [RO] Adevarul.ro Cine ne supraveghează online şi cum ne protejăm datele
- [RO] Adevarul.ro Cum afli dacă site-ul tău a fost victima hackerilor. Ro Hacked e Google pentru atacuri informatice
- [RO] Cristian China Birta (Blogger): Tot respectul, Andrei Avădănei, pentru DefCamp!
2014
2011
- [EN] Softpedia How and Why to Stay Anonymous Online