Pentest People partners premier league Leeds

Cybersecurity consultancy, Pentest People, has announced its digital partnership with premier league Leeds United Football Club. This is the first year that the Leeds-based employer has partnered the club and signals its growing investment in the area.

Pentest People provides businesses with vulnerability testing services, conducted by a team of expert consultants, who provide guidance on closing security holes to protect IT systems. Also known as ‘ethical hackers,’ penetration testers check for any insecure web applications, mobile applications, or misconfigured systems that could allow cybercriminals to steal information or hold it to ransom. Ongoing testing is then provided through Pentest People’s SecurePortal ®, allowing businesses to quickly address newly-discovered threats.

Pentest People is led by Gavin Watson, technical director, and Anthony Harvey, sales director, who have grown the company to almost sixty employees in three years. Watson is a highly experienced consultant who wrote a book on social engineering, speaks at industry events and has appeared on television discussing how criminals gain access to sensitive information. Harvey has spent over a decade developing business for FTSE security providers, start-ups and global system integrators.

In spite of the pandemic, Pentest People has continued to grow and hire local experts to provide cybersecurity support to small and medium enterprises throughout the UK and Europe. When lockdown was first announced in March, the company applied its Yorkshire gumption to help keep clients’ businesses running smoothly. By quickly developing its SecureGateway ® device, Pentest People was able to provide clients with a secure way to continue monitoring their systems for vulnerabilities while penetration testers were working from home.

Commenting on the LUFC digital partnership, Andrew Mason, co-founder of Pentest People said, “We are a growing business that employs local cybersecurity consultants to help keep businesses safe from hackers. Just like any leading team, we are only as good as our people and the majority of them are born and bred Yorkshire folk and life-long Leeds supporters. We wanted to put something back into the local community and give our employees something extra to shout about.”

Pentest People is the fourth business co-founded by local technology entrepreneurs, Andrew Mason and Robin Hill. The pair formerly founded and ran successful cybersecurity business, RandomStorm, until its acquisition in 2014.

“Running and growing a business is about building a strong culture where employees feel valued and part of the family. Many of our employees are avid fans of LUFC. We’re happy to support the supporters and put our money where our mouth is,” says Mason.

Fans will be able to see Pentest People’s banners at matches held at Elland Road from September 2020 to 2021.