About Us
Daswani Enterprises is a boutique, world-class AI and cybersecurity management and technology consulting firm.
Watch Neil's latest talk, AI’s Promise and Perils: From Neural Networks to National Security.
Daswani Enterprises was founded and is led by Dr. Neil Daswani, a prominent figure in the field of cybersecurity, with a career that spans academia, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership.
Professional Experience
In 2008, Dr. Daswani co-founded Dasient, a web security company that was later acquired by Twitter in 2012. His professional journey includes roles at Google, where he led the analysis of the Clickbot.A botnet, and executive positions such as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at LifeLock, Symantec's Consumer Business Unit, and QuantumScape.
Academic and Educational Contributions
Daswani serves as the Co-Academic-Director of the Stanford Advanced Cybersecurity Certification Program, where he plays a pivotal role in educating professionals on advanced cybersecurity practices. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and a B.S. in Computer Science with honors with distinction from Columbia University.
Publications and Thought Leadership
Neil Daswani is the lead author of "Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs to Know," a book aimed at educating developers on security fundamentals. He has also co-authored "Big Breaches: Cybersecurity Lessons for Everyone," addressing major data breaches and their implications.
Advisory and Investment Roles
Beyond his academic and professional endeavors, Dr. Daswani is an advisor and investor in several cybersecurity startups and venture capital funds, including Benhamou Global Ventures and Firebolt Ventures.
Select awards recognizing Dr. Daswani’s leadership.
ORBIE CISO Awards Bay Area Corporate Finalist
Recognizing top Chief Information Security Officers leading enterprise security initiatives.
Top 100 CISOs in the US
Honored among the 100 most influential CISOs across the United States.
EMG Impact Award – Google
Recognizing outstanding security leadership and organizational impact at Google.
LifeLock – Top Score in Consumer Sector
Awarded highest rating in consumer cybersecurity practices and outcomes.
Bellcore Presidential Recognition Award
Distinguished recognition for innovation and leadership in cybersecurity research.
ORBIE CISO Awards Bay Area Corporate Finalist
Recognizing top Chief Information Security Officers leading enterprise security initiatives.
Top 100 CISO Nationwide
Honored among the 100 most influential CISOs across the United States.
Executive Management Group (EMG) Impact Award – Google
Recognizing outstanding security leadership and organizational impact at Google.
LifeLock – Top Score in Consumer Sector
Awarded highest rating in consumer cybersecurity practices and outcomes.
Bellcore Presidential Recognition Award
Distinguished recognition for innovation and leadership in cybersecurity research.
* Neil Daswani has received these awards over the years for his and his teams’ cybersecurity leadership and impact at various organizations.
Meet Neil Daswani
Neil is a renowned cybersecurity executive, investor, author, and educator, with a passion for innovation and empowering others to secure their digital world.
Neil Daswani is a globally recognized cybersecurity expert and co-author of the books “Big Breaches: Cybersecurity Lessons For Everyone” and "Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs to Know." With over two decades of experience, Neil has helped companies across various industries address emerging threats and strengthen their cybersecurity posture.
Expertise & Contributions:
- Led multiple successful cybersecurity initiatives at public companies, startups, and research collaborations
- Highly regarded speaker at major conferences including Black Hat, RSA, ACM, IEEE, and OWASP
- Passionate advocate for public cybersecurity education, including developing executive and developer programs at Stanford University
- Creator of courses and content that advance understanding of AI and cybersecurity risks
- Former CISO at tech firms like LifeLock, Symantec's Consumer Business Unit, and QuantumScape
- Advisor to startups and venture funds focused on AI and cybersecurity innovation
Neil has dedicated his career to securing the digital world by building practical, forward-looking security programs, training the next generation of cyber leaders, and helping organizations prepare for both traditional and AI-powered threats.
Testimonials
"Neil's expertise in cybersecurity makes him among the very best in his field. He couples it with clear, methodical thinking and a talent for explaining complicated concepts in simple terms, understandable even to a venture capitalist! He withstands the heavy pressures imposed on entrepreneurs with grace and an even attitude. I am grateful to him for the Dasient experience."
Eric Benmahou, Founder of Benhamou Global Ventures (BGV) and former CEO of 3Com
"At both Yodlee and at Dasient (in which I invested in), I have seen Neil's tech entrepreneur skills in action. In both cases, he helped build business by leading R&D efforts of next-generation technology. In both the areas of security and wireless, he advanced the state of the art, impressing customers and helping generating sales, while also acquiring patents and building deep intellectual property along the way."
Sukhinder Singh, CEO of Xero
"Neil is an outstanding engineer, manager, and leader who combines deep technical expertise with market savvy and entrepreneurial vim."
Ravi Jain, Head of Product and Technology, Google X Moonshot for the Electric Grid
"Neil's expertise at Google ranged over areas including online click fraud, web application security, and malware. He excelled in both engineering and management roles. Neil was always a team player and great to work with, notably when collaborating on research about online advertising fraud."
Steve Weis, Co-founder & CTO of PrivateCore (acquired by Facebook)
"Neil worked on important, internal infrastructure for Google security about which I cannot disclose more. In vague generalities, I can say that Neil is a great software engineer who is able to jump in, understand a complex software pipeline, and make the necessary changes to achieve the engineering/security goals."
Bennet Yee, Member of Honors College Board of Regents at Oregon State University University
"Having built 3 other software companies over the last 10 years, I have yet to come across another senior technology team member who has such a strong ability to immediately identify the key technology issues, distill that information effectively for the team, and then lead efforts forward towards development goals, a very valuable and unique skill-set indeed."
Michael Downing, Silicon Valley Serial Enpreneur
"Neil has the rare distinction of having convinced me to work with him not once, not twice, not even thrice, but four different times! The first time may have been a fluke, but since then I've worked with Neil again and again because he's a great colleague and mentor. I feel fortunate to have worked with him early in my career, since he's especially supportive of junior members on his team.
He respected my opinions and treated me like a peer right from the start of my first internship with him at Google. Later at Dasient, even as an intern, he gave me a lot of responsibility and room to run on projects critical to the company. But, importantly, he also backed-up this autonomy with enough guidance to keep me moving forward. These are just a few examples of how Neil trusts his teammates and invests the time and energy required to keep making them better. That's why I'd happily work with him yet again for a fifth time."
Arkajit Dey, Senior Staff Software Engineer (Google, Twitter, Uber, Figma)
Google Executive Management Group Impact Award
Top 100 CISOs in the US
Bay Area ORBIE CISO of the Year Award Finalist
Online Trust Alliance Honor Roll 2017 - #1 in Consumer Sector
Online Trust Alliance Honor Roll 2016
Bellcore Presidential Recognition Award
