Benjamin Harris | Prestige 40 Under 40 2023

Benjamin Harris was already running a small web hosting company at age 12, and in his 20s founded watchTowr, a platform that prevents banks, insurers and global enterprises from being breached online.

Initially enrolled by his parents in a specialised music school in the hopes that he would become a professional cellist, Benjamin has always been obsessed with learning about computer systems. He left school at 17 with only GCSEs and found a job that paid him to hack into systems and find their vulnerabilities.

After building and leading high-performing offensive cyber security teams and simulating and analysing cyber-attacks for various international employers, Benjamin founded watchTowr, an Attack Surface Management platform that has secured US$10.25 million in funding from Prosus Ventures (the largest shareholder in Tencent), Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital and Wavemaker Partners.

“Most imminently, our sights are set upon expanding into the western market, and capitalising on the success and warm reception of our technology,” says Benjamin, who also sits on the board of Crest, an entity focused on advancing the cyber security profession.

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