Justin Westcott
Chief Technology Officer
DataGr8
Justin Westcott is currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer at DataGr8, a niche company based in Pretoria. His academic journey includes a Bachelor of Military Science in Technology and Defence Management, and an Honours degree in Military Science - Technology, where he graduated Cum Laude. His passion for flying and technology is evident in his publication on RSSI triangulation in passive aerial tracking, which was presented at the Military Information and Communications Symposium of South Africa (MICCSA) in 2016.
Before venturing into the private sector, Justin dedicated approximately a decade to the South African National Defence Force as an Air Force Pilot, where he honed his leadership and technical skills. Transitioning to a cyber security career, he started in penetration testing, vulnerability management, digital forensics, and cyber investigations. His breadth of experience and exposure spans across consulting, training, research, and development in the cyber security domain.
Justin's passion lies in vulnerability management, threat intelligence, and solutions development. He has contributed to the discourse on cyber resilience in Africa, with presentations at international conferences, including the 12th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security in Washington D.C., and the Symposium on Cyber Intelligence and Warfare at the African Aerospace and Defence Expo (AAD) in 2017.
His insights into blockchain forensics were showcased at the 2018 CHPC National Conference, and he addressed the critical issue of transforming transport industry cyber resilience at Africa Rail 2019 in Sandton. Justin has assisted in the private sector with risk identification, mitigation, and remediation, emphasizing the development of internal security cultures and the alignment of governance.
His recent presentations, such as "Impact vs Probability Bias - Managing your Cyber Incident Risk" at CyberX Africa Ghana 2022 and “Cyber Intelligence Sharing Between States for Effective Cyber Defense” at the Third International Workshop on Combating Transnational Crime in Africa 2023 in Stellenbosch, reflect his continued commitment to advancing creative thinking in the field. His latest presentation at the Sovereign Security Conference 2023 on intelligence-driven risk-based vulnerability management underlines his ongoing efforts to advocate for working smarter, rather than harder, through intelligence driven risk-based programmes in cyber security.
