Our History

Two cybersecurity teams with academic roots

Bureau Veritas Cybersecurity brings together Secura in the Netherlands and Security Innovation in the United States. Both began in academic settings where hands-on research, curiosity, and real-world problem solving shaped their approach. Today, their expertise comes together under one name.

Secura: From Eindhoven to Industry

The roots of Secura go back to the Technical University of Eindhoven, where a group of students sharpened their hacking skills in a cat-and-mouse game with system administrators, long before computer crime laws existed. In 2000, they founded Madison Gurkha, a pentesting company that later became Secura.

Madison Gurkha also organized the Black Hat Sessions, a recurring event that brought together professionals to exchange insights on cybersecurity challenges and developments. Over time, the company expanded into auditing, training, and consultancy, working with clients across government, finance, and industry.

Security Innovation: Software Security from Day One

At the Florida Institute of Technology, professor James Whittaker and a group of graduate students focused on one thing: breaking software to understand how it fails. This work formed the core of Security Innovation. The team applied attacker techniques to software testing and training, helping others strengthen their development practices.

Security Innovation was built around this hands-on expertise. Rather than starting with a business model, it started with a method and used it to support clients in secure development, training, and application security.

Now One Company

Secura joined the Bureau Veritas Group in 2021. Security Innovation followed in 2024. Together, we operate as Bureau Veritas Cybersecurity, with teams across Europe and North America.

We continue to build on our shared roots, combining technical depth, practical experience, and a focus on the systems and software that shape today’s digital world.