CEO Today Africa Awards

69 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Africa Awards 2018 south africa CHRISTI MAHERRY CEO of LAWtrust and Executive Director at Etion FIRM PROFILE Etion Limited is a diversified digital technology solutions provider. Etion creates, digitises, connects and secures both generic and bespoke digital technology solutions to improve the safety, productivity, connectivity and cyber security of their customers, all with one purpose: to advance humanity. LAWtrust, as the cornerstone of Etion secure, is a world-class security provider in the digital world to the ultimate benefit of the physical world. As a human-centric company that secures identity documents, protects companies and supports communities all around, LAWtrust is a trusted expert in areas of cryptographic based security such as digital certificates, PKI, digital signing, encryption, integrity and non-repudiation. The company has expanded their offering into cyber security assessment and in assisting organisations to understand their security posture and also established a Trust Academy to address the shortage of skills in the cyber security space. LAWtrust has an impressive customer base of almost 1000 clients across the government, business and financial sector. Over the years, LAWtrust has become a crucial element in the South African society, through the trust services provided to government and industry. Some of these incredible feats include: - Providing digital identity for the national ID card system - Digital certificates for banking systems protecting billions of Rands monthly - Digital signature solutions in banking, insurance and other industries. With the aim to empower and provide digital security to millions of South African citizens, LAWtrust continues its upward trajectory, this has been made evident by the noteworthy firsts that LAWtrust has managed to garner since its inception: • The first African Certificate Authority to achieve ISO 2188 and WebTrust Certification. • The first African Certificate Authority to be included in the Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL). • The first Certificate Authority to be accredited for the provision of Advanced Electronic Signatures under the ECT Act. • The only African Trust Centre to be contracted by the EU to extend identity and signature validation through the Future Trust Project. • As well as getting FIDO U2F certification and membership to the FIDO Alliance. LAWtrust continues to provide the elements of trust in the digital world. ABOUT CHRISTI MAHERRY As a pioneer in security, Christi Maherry is the co-founder of LAWtrust Information Security Solutions, Africa’s leading digital security experts. Over a period of 13 years, Christi has exponentially grown LAWtrust from a two-person operation to a business, whose leaps and bounds managed to attract an acquisition by JSE Listed company Etion Limited. The acquisition has catapulted LAWtrust to the frontlines as Etion’s cyber security business. Christi has been involved in the security sector since 1996. Prior to committing her energy to the private sector, she worked in state security and intelligence for nearly a decade. Her exceptional knowledge in the intelligence sector has proven to be incredibly useful in the tech space in the era of cyber-threats, crime and warfare. As the CEO of Etion Secure, a specialist security solutions provider that incorporates LAWtrust, Christi is determined to spearhead trust in information systems through establishing authenticity, accountability and privacy in data messages. The strides she has made within the sector andher passionhave cemented her position as a transformational leader and visionary entrepreneur with a proven track record. She has won numerous accolades both locally and internationally and has been recognised as a technology industry leader. www.lawtrust.co.za