News and Events
June 9, 2026
Geneva, Switzerland
PDF versions ( English, Dutch )
For Immediate Release
Geneva, Switzerland – June 9th, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced that Einar Oftedal has joined its Board of Directors.
Mr. Oftedal is a cybersecurity executive, founder, investor, and operator with extensive experience spanning private equity, enterprise software, cybersecurity, and national security. He is widely recognized for helping investors and leadership teams navigate growth, transformation, and technology-driven value creation across both public and private sectors.
Oftedal previously founded and led Crosspoint Labs, the technical arm of Crosspoint Capital, where he advised investment teams and portfolio companies across the full investment lifecycle, including technical diligence, product strategy, operational transformation, and growth acceleration. He also served in leadership roles at RSAC Conference, Symantec, NortonLifeLock, and Blue Coat Systems, and played a central role in strengthening Norway’s national cybersecurity capabilities through work with the Norwegian National Security Authority and in helping establish Norway’s National Cyber Security Center, formerly NorCERT.
“Einar brings a rare combination of technical depth, operational leadership, and strategic investment experience,” said Bret Jordan, Co-Founder of OSTERA. “His background across cybersecurity, software, and private equity aligns strongly with OSTERA’s mission to modernize how open standards are developed and adopted in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.”
“Bringing open standards to life requires more than technical rigor; it requires leaders who understand how organizations actually adopt and operationalize technology,” said Gershon Janssen, Co-Founder of OSTERA. “Einar’s experience gives him a grounded perspective on what real-world implementation requires. That is exactly the kind of insight that strengthens OSTERA’s governance and ensures our standards are built to be put into practice.”
Oftedal noted, OSTERA represents an important evolution in how technology communities collaborate around standards and innovation. "The pace of change in AI, cybersecurity, and software engineering requires more agile and transparent models for collaboration,” he said. “OSTERA is building a modern framework for open standards development that reflects how technology is created and deployed today. I am excited to join the Board of Directors and support its mission.”
About OSTERA
OSTERA — the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, is a global, nonprofit, member-driven organization dedicated to creating, evolving, promoting, and stewarding the standards, technical specifications, and collaborative practices needed to enable a modern world for the public good. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, OSTERA provides an open, agile, and inclusive environment where industry, academia, governments, and individual experts can work together to develop high-quality standards at the pace of technological change. By combining modern governance, contributor-friendly intellectual property practices, and radically reduced barriers to participation, OSTERA serves as a trusted platform for responsible innovation and global interoperability across emerging and critical technology domains.
Join the Movement
OSTERA invites organizations, companies, governments, researchers, startups, and individuals interested in joining and contributing to OSTERA’s mission to explore membership opportunities at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org
May 28, 2026
For Immediate Release
OSTERA Launches Global Cyber Risk Governance Metrics Working Group Led by Former JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and Citi CISO Charles Blauner
Geneva, Switzerland – May 28, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced the formation of a new global industry-led initiative focused on defining the executive and board-level cybersecurity metrics that organizations should use to effectively understand, communicate, and manage cyber risk.
This new working group will be led by Charles Blauner, the former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and Citi, and one of the most recognized leaders in global cybersecurity governance.
The objective of the working group is to establish a practical, globally relevant framework that helps CISOs, executive leadership, and boards of directors better assess the true state of cybersecurity within their organizations through meaningful, standardized, and actionable metrics.
Organizations across every sector continue to struggle with the same fundamental challenge: how to measure, interpret, and communicate cyber risk to executive leadership and boards. While many frameworks exist for cybersecurity controls and technical implementations, there remains a significant gap in standardized guidance for cyber risk governance metrics.
OSTERA’s Cyber Risk Governance Metrics Working Group aims to address that gap.
"Cybersecurity must be understood as a business risk, not simply a technical problem," said Charles Blauner, Convenor and Chair of the Working Group. "Organizations need clear, consistent, and meaningful ways to measure and communicate cyber risk. Our goal is to help establish that foundation."
"The cybersecurity industry has made remarkable progress in deploying controls, but measuring whether those controls are effective in actually reducing risk has not kept pace," said Rob Harrison, SVP product management, Sophos. "The rise of agentic AI, in the hands of both defenders and adversaries, makes closing that gap more urgent than ever. It is not just a technical problem; it is a strategic problem. This work aligns directly with our mission at Sophos to erase the cybersecurity poverty line. And a common, globally relevant framework for Cyber Risk Governance Metrics is one of the most direct ways to give every organization, not just the most resourced, a consistent approach to measurable resilience. We are proud to support Charles and OSTERA in building it."
About OSTERA
OSTERA — the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, is a global, nonprofit, member-driven organization dedicated to creating, evolving, promoting, and stewarding the standards, technical specifications, and collaborative practices needed to enable a modern world for the public good. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, OSTERA provides an open, agile, and inclusive environment where industry, academia, governments, and individual experts can work together to develop high-quality standards at the pace of technological change. By combining modern governance, contributor-friendly intellectual property practices, and radically reduced barriers to participation, OSTERA serves as a trusted platform for responsible innovation and global interoperability across emerging and critical technology domains.
About The Working Group
OSTERA welcomes participation from CISOs, risk leaders, security architects, regulators, policymakers, and security practitioners from all sectors, with particular focus on finance, healthcare, government, and large enterprise environments. If you are interested in developing and shaping this work, join the Working Group. Learn more and apply for membership at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org
February 18, 2026
For Immediate Release
Geneva, Switzerland – February 18th, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced that Duncan Sparrell has joined its Board of Directors.
Mr. Sparrell is widely recognized as a leader in telecommunications, cybersecurity, and standards development, with almost five decades of experience advancing secure systems across industry, government, and international standards bodies. His appointment strengthens OSTERA’s mission to enable agile, member-driven development of open standards that serve the public good.
"Duncan brings an extraordinary depth of technical expertise, credibility, and leadership in global standardization," said Bret Jordan, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "At a time when emerging technologies demand faster, more effective collaboration, his guidance will be invaluable as OSTERA establishes itself as a trusted home for modern standards work."
"As OSTERA grows, thoughtful board leadership helps ensure we remain accountable to our members and true to our mission," said Gershon Janssen, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "Duncan's experience across industry, government, and international standards bodies brings a valuable governance perspective that will help shape OSTERA's long-term direction."
Mr. Sparrell noted that OSTERA represents a timely and necessary evolution in standards development. "The pace of technological change has outgrown many traditional processes," he said. "OSTERA offers a compelling model, one that preserves openness, rigor, and contributor ownership while enabling faster progress. I am pleased to join the OSTERA Board of Directors and support its mission."
About OSTERA
OSTERA is a global nonprofit, member-driven standards organization, headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, that is dedicated to advancing open standards and the technical foundations needed to enable a modern world for the public good.
Join the Movement
OSTERA invites organizations, companies, governments, researchers, startups, and individuals interested in joining and contributing to OSTERA’s mission to explore membership opportunities at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org
January 27, 2026
For Immediate Release
Geneva, Switzerland – January 27th, 2026 – OSTERA, the Open Standards and Technology Engineering and Research Association, today announced its public launch as a new global nonprofit standards development organization (SDO). This new SDO is designed to modernize and accelerate the creation of open standards and technology that are essential to enable a modern and interoperable world.
Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, OSTERA aims to address long-standing challenges in traditional standards bodies, which often struggle with slow timelines, high participation costs, and outdated processes. By contrast, OSTERA offers an agile, cost-effective, and contributor-friendly environment that enables global collaboration across critical domains such as cybersecurity, AI, PQC, digital identity, networking, and other emerging technologies. This new ecosystem and standardization model, built from nearly a century of combined expertise in international standards, will enable industry to innovate and standardize while keeping up with the speed of business.
OSTERA’s mission is to create an environment that is industry-driven and that reflects the realities of today’s global technology ecosystem and the urgent need for interoperable and standardized solutions.
One of the key aspects of OSTERA is that it is by members, for members.
"Standardization is essential to global innovation, security, and economic growth, but the legacy standards organizations were not built for the world we live in today," said Bret Jordan, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "OSTERA was created to provide a modern home for open standards: one that is fast, inclusive, and aligned with how technology is actually developed in the 21st century. We built OSTERA to be by members, for members."
"Interoperability doesn’t happen by accident, it’s the result of deliberate, open and well-governed collaboration", said Gershon Janssen, Co-Founder of OSTERA. "OSTERA is designed to enable contributors and implementers to participate in the global standards development process, all while lowering the barriers of participation and maintaining transparent governance."
Join the Movement
OSTERA invites organizations, companies, governments, researchers, startups, and individuals interested in joining and contributing to OSTERA’s mission to explore membership opportunities at www.ostera.org.
Media Contact
OSTERA - Geneva, Switzerland
press@ostera.org
www.ostera.org