Cybersecurity veteran Fred Streefland joins Hikvision EMEA cybersecurity programs and initiatives

Hikvision Europe announced that Fred Streefland has been named EMEA Cybersecurity Director. Streefland will lead and support EMEA cybersecurity programs and initiatives, as well as working with cybersecurity institutions and researchers, public authorities, local partners and other key stakeholders of the company. He will be based in the European headquarters in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.

With more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience in both public and government domains, Streefland is joining Hikvision from Palo Alto Networks, where he worked as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) for Northern and Eastern Europe. During this period, he advised C-level executives of several multinational organizations and officials of Governments on their Cybersecurity challenges and assisted them in implementing a Zero Trust approach. He served as the official spokesman of Palo Alto Networks and was often requested as a keynote speaker at international Cybersecurity conferences.

Streefland will take the lead in EMEA Cybersecurity activities at Hikvision Europe. He will be responsible for the structure, development and maintenance of key internal and external cybersecurity initiatives and programs in the EMEA market.

“The hiring of Fred Streefland represents a key milestone for the Cybersecurity efforts of Hikvision”, said Derek Yang, President of Hikvision Europe. “As a world-leading provider of innovative, award-winning security products and solutions, we have to take our responsibility and be a world leader in Cybersecurity defense as well. To achieve this, we are continuously improving and investing in our Cybersecurity programs.”

Streefland’s initial goals at the company will be to further improve the Cybersecurity and Privacy of the Hikvision products and services, and serve as a trusted advisor on Cybersecurity & Privacy for customers, partners, institutions and employees.

“Hikvision is a responsible manufacturer that already has a robust Cybersecurity program in place. I will be working on optimizing this program even further to minimize the potential Cybersecurity risks in Europe and to make sure our European partners get the support they need in their operations”, said Streefland. He also believes education has a big role to play in the surveillance industry. “Shared responsibility is a key theme within Cybersecurity, meaning manufacturers and users have to work together and be responsible.” Cybersecurity awareness and best practices should therefore become standard knowledge for every surveillance and security expert working in the industry.

Fred Streefland served as Intelligence and Security officer for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the MIVD and at the NATO headquarters in Brussels for more than 16 years. He left this position to work at IBM Netherlands as central contact for all matters related to Public Safety and Security, as well as Cybersecurity. After a period of 4 years, he joined Accenture as Senior Manager Security and served as project leader on Smart Grid Security. Other tenures include working in ICS/SCADA Security at the European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS) and as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Exact and LeaseWeb. Before joining Hikvision, Streefland acted as Chief Security Officer (CSO) for Northern and Eastern Europe at Palo Alto Networks.

Fred Streefland is also a guest lecturer at the Cyber Security Academy (CSA), an Executive Master program organized by the Technical University of Delft, Leiden University and The University of Applied Sciences The Hague. He holds a bachelor (bc.) of Management, Economics & Law and an Executive Master of Security & Defense (EMSD).