“If there is a way in, the modern AI threat will find it,” Kevin Mandia wrote in March, in the blog post that launched his cybersecurity startup, Armadin. Six months later, Amazon has elected him to its board of directors.

Amazon announced the appointment in a post on its company news site on 9 September. It said Mandia joined the board on 8 September and described him as a “widely recognized cybersecurity expert” with more than 30 years of experience. A securities filing made the same day shows he will sit on the board’s Audit Committee and its Security Committee.

The appointment takes Amazon’s board to 12 members, Catherine Perloff reported for The Information. CNBC’s Annie Palmer also reported the move, along with details of his pay from the filing.

From the Pentagon to Mandiant

Mandia founded Mandiant in 2004 and served as its chief executive. The firm investigated corporate data breaches, and Google bought it for $5.4bn in 2022. Amazon’s post says the deal closed in September of that year.