CyberProof, a UST company, delivers AI-powered Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services and advanced, threat-led defense strategies to help global enterprises anticipate, detect, and respond to cyber threats more efficiently. Pulse 2.0 interviewed CyberProof CEO and UST Chief Information Security Officer Tony Velleca to learn more.
Tony Velleca’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Velleca said:
“Absolutely. I am currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at CyberProof, which is a UST-owned subsidiary. At UST I am also the acting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). I have been with UST for 25 years holding various roles within the company as it grew from a start-up to a global powerhouse in the IT industry. I started my career as an aerospace engineer with Boeing and Rolls-Royce North America, managing teams and designing propulsion systems for next-generation commercial and military aircraft.”
“When I first joined UST, I truly began to realize how complex the cybersecurity industry was. As companies started going digital and putting more of their assets online, it became an increasingly critical part of their business. I knew we’d have to think differently about how we handled security.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the CyberProof come together? Velleca shared:
“While at UST, I held the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for several years. During this time, a key priority was helping customers become more digitized. We were helping large enterprises tackle digital transformation when it became clear that cybersecurity was going to be a very critical component, and we wanted to assist our customers with this additional layer. We decided to spin off our cybersecurity capabilities, and thus, CyberProof was born. We created a separate cybersecurity company because cybersecurity is somewhat independent of other IT services. From our perspective, we were interested in influencing how people perceive cybersecurity, and we felt that to do that, we needed to be independent.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Velleca reflected:
“It’s difficult to boil it down to one specific memory, so instead I’ll offer the overarching reason that I love what I do. The constant theme in the cybersecurity industry is innovation. This market changes all the time, at least every 6 months something new or significant happens that shakes up the landscape. We move at a pace that is dynamic and exciting – every day there is a new threat, hack, tactic, technique or procedure (TTP). It forces people to think outside the box, and it has been so rewarding to be involved with creating innovative solutions and watching the lightbulbs go off as security experts work to stay ahead as defenders.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Velleca explained:
“CyberProof is a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) that helps organizations intelligently manage incident detection and response. Our advanced cyber defense platform enables operational efficiency with complete transparency to dramatically reduce the cost and time needed to respond to security threats and minimize business impact. CyberProof’s Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) platform validates cybersecurity defenses and mitigates threat exposure by analyzing the relationship between your defensive controls, vulnerabilities and the threats likely targeting your organization. Our Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) provides 24/7 security operation center (SOC) monitoring, investigation, alert triage and incident response.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Velleca acknowledged:
“One of the biggest challenges is how quickly the market changes. As a platform-enabled service company, it can be quite difficult to build something that won’t become obsolete in the next few years. Even more challenging is how to position yourself as a long-term strategic partner to your customers. We recently overcame these hurdles by acquiring Interpres Security. With this acquisition, we became the first and only MSSP to offer a complete CTEM capability, including continuous optimization of customers’ security solutions. What we offer is analytical and seamlessly integrates with existing tools to measure the value of all services.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Velleca noted:
“Since creating the company in 2017, we have continued to enhance our solutions and capabilities to meet the needs of the security landscape. Our “north star” has always been to help customers reduce their risk of attack or the negative outcome from an attack. We started as a leading MSSP provider focusing on automation via our own Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platform. Through acquisitions and listening to our customers, our services have expanded to provide our customers with threat-led, holistic platform-led services that include estate, exposure and defense management solutions. We will continue to evolve, ensuring we deliver the services and solutions our customers need to protect their assets and achieve business resilience.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Velleca cited:
“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments CyberProof has made over the years. One of the more recent milestones that stands out, and I mentioned this earlier, is our acquisition of Interpres Security, a Gartner-recognized vendor in Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) and Automated Security Control Assessments (ASCA), in December 2024. This acquisition introduced our ability to empower organizations to continuously prioritize targeted threats, optimize their existing defensive capabilities, and proactively reduce their exposure. Less than a year after the acquisition, we’re seeing industry recognition for CyberProof’s MDR capabilities and continued momentum for CTEM. In August 2025 we also announced cybersecurity Estate Management as part of our threat-led capabilities to help organizations streamline the discovery of assets across hybrid environments and ensure those assets are properly managed from a security perspective. Fundamentally, CyberProof is the only security vendor offering co-managed services with transparent operations that bring together disparate security tools into a cohesive, risk-aligned platform.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Velleca affirmed:
“No other company has a platform like ours that also includes a comprehensive set of managed services. Our cloud-first and AI-powered approach to security offers services that deliver measurable business outcomes, allowing companies to prioritize risk and make the most of their security solutions. This allows us to deliver a flexible engagement model that meets the customers current needs to keep our focus, together, on the outcome of reducing the risk of a successful and damaging attack – cost effectively.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Velleca concluded:
“Our mission, first and foremost, will always be to help customers reduce risk and determine where their next dollar should be spent. The growing threat of vulnerabilities in third parties and the supply chain, and their potential impact, is extremely prevalent in today’s security landscape. Over the next few years, we plan to develop an inside-out solution for companies to address these risks.”
“In today’s world, businesses are required to interact with each other and share information; one security risk in that supply chain can impact many organizations. As this continues to be a growing problem, CyberProof’s goal is to provide a solution to help security leaders manage their third-party risks and stop attacks before they happen.”
