Another One Jumps Ship! Nike's Dennings Joins Bitreserve

Bitreserve has taken another step further to strengthen its security. Security is one of the main concerns in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin exchanges and wallets present a very attractive target for the hackers and cybercriminals. There have been instances where these Bitcoin establishments have come under attack and experienced huge losses. The well-known examples are Mt Gox, Bter, BitStamp and Bitfinex where all the losses put together amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Learning from the example, all the companies are now focusing more on information security and spending a lot of money towards it.

In order to stay ahead of the curve and to ensure the security of the platform, Bitreserve has hired a new Chief Information Security Officer. The San Francisco and Shanghai based company, Bitreserve which offers Bitcoin based financial services has hired William Dennings as its Chief information Security Officer. Dennings is a valuable asset who comes with a lot of experience in the financial sector. Like his expertise in information security, he also comes with a lot of baggage.

Dennings, who made a shift from being the Security Chief at Nike to become the Chief Information Security Officer at Bitreserve has previously worked with MasterCard. This move comes in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit between Nike and MasterCard regarding him conspiring with Nike to poach cyber security talent from MasterCard. William Dennings is the second person from Nike to join Bitreserve in less than a year.

According to the lawsuit filed by MasterCard, Nike colluded with Dennings and Ryan Fusselman, another security manager to steal cybersecurity professionals from MasterCard while breaking the non-solicitation agreements and non-disclosure contracts in the process. In another filing, MasterCard accuses Dennings of using MasterCard’s confidential information to reconfigure Nike’s network.

In December last year, Anthony Watson had quit his position as the Chief Information Officer of Nike to join Bitreserve. Watson now holds the position of President and Chief Operating Officer at Bitreserve. This move by Dennings along with many other before him who followed suit to quit their high-profile jobs in big corporations to join digital currency based start-ups stands as an exhibit of the growth potential they have.