Amit Yoran, Tenable CEO and cybersecurity advocate, dies at 54

Amit Yoran, CEO and chairman of Tenable Holdings as well as a longtime cybersecurity advocate, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 54.

Tenable announced Yoran's passing in a statement published Jan. 4. The company said Yoran died unexpectedly following a medical leave of absence he took beginning Dec. 5. Upon Yoran's leave, Tenable appointed CFO Steve Vintz and COO Mark Thurmond as co-CEOs; Tenable said the two will continue to lead the company as the board conducts a CEO search. Art Coviello, Tenable's lead independent director, will serve as chairman of the board.

Amit Yoran

Yoran was a longtime practitioner of cybersecurity, with roughly 30 years spent across the private and public sectors. Between 2003 and 2004, he served as the national cybersecurity director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, he founded NetWitness, a prominent network security and threat detection vendor acquired by RSA Security in 2011.

Yoran joined RSA in 2011, first as senior vice president of product before becoming the company's president from 2014 until 2016. During his tenure, Yoran emerged as a staunch supporter of strong encryption and pushed back against the U.S. government's efforts to weaken the technology for law enforcement purposes.

In 2016, Yoran joined Tenable as its CEO. According to Tenable's statement, Yoran "[led] the company through significant growth, including its successful initial public offering in 2018."

"A visionary leader and a pioneer in the cybersecurity industry, Amit dedicated his life to making the digital world safer. His unwavering commitment to innovation and relentless pursuit of excellence transformed Tenable into a global leader in exposure management. His contributions to the field have left an indelible mark, not only on the company but on the broader cybersecurity community," the statement read.

Yoran was also a vocal proponent of transparency in cybersecurity, particularly with cloud vulnerabilities. In 2023, he criticized Microsoft over its handling of a zero-day vulnerability in Azure that Tenable discovered and Microsoft apparently took three months to issue an incomplete fix for. He also called out the company for its broader lack of transparency around cloud vulnerabilities. Microsoft has made strides to correct these issues in the time since via its Secure Future Initiative.

As part of Tenable's statement, Coviello called Yoran "an extraordinary leader, colleague, and friend."

"His passion for cybersecurity, his strategic vision, and his ability to inspire those around him have shaped Tenable's culture and mission," Coviello said. "His legacy will continue to guide us as we move forward."

Alexander Culafi is a senior information security news writer and podcast host for Informa TechTarget.