Founders

Leadership Group

Azhar Laldin

CRISC, CISM, PMP, MBA-ITM

Azhar is a co-founder of Castellan Information Security Services Inc. and manages the delivery of its end-to-end Information Security services and personnel.

He has ~30 years of experience working in the IT field, and over 20+ years of experience in successfully delivering complex projects across several industries including Education, Agriculture, Financial Services, Telecommunications, Insurance and Healthcare.

As a leading Information Security executive, he has led the implementation of Cyber Security Programs, comprising of technologies such as Enterprise Vulnerability Management, IDS/IPS, Media Sanitization, Multi-Factor Authentication, File Integrity Monitor, Enterprise Password Vault, Network Encryption, and Hardening Standards.

Brent Patten

Brent is an executive with 30+ years' experience leading private & public sector security services and programs.

He is a co-founder of Castellan Information Security Services and leads their Staff Augmentation business line and developed the physical & corporate security framework for Castellan's Integrated Assessment for Information Security.

Brent's public sector experience includes his role as Director the Canada Border Services Agency's national taskforce to delivery border security for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Manager of its National Risk Assessment Centre.

His private sector experience includes an executive role in helping lead the start-up and management of an international security and technology consulting company.

Mike Bettens

Mike is a co-owner of Castellan and one of Manitoba's top Information Technology executives and technical business CEO's. He is also the founder and CEO of Unite Interactive, a leading Canadian Website Design and Digital Marketing Agency. Unite Interactive works with growth-oriented companies looking to drive more leads, conversions, customers and revenue in consulting, financial services, government, mining, manufacturing, construction, health, education, social services and other industries across Canada.

Mike leads Castellan's strategic and tactical business development and marketing operations and planning.

Mike is an established community business leader and has taken senior roles in building community and local business development. This includes sitting on the Board of Directors of the Metis Economic Development Fund - Equity Investment Fund. Since its inception, the fund has invested nearly $11.3 million, leveraging an additional $28.2 million and creating more than 1,200 jobs.

Certified experts

Our Team

Daniel Chung

CISSP

Daniel is a Winnipeg-based Certified Information Security System Professional (CISSP), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) and Senior Security Analyst with 20+ years of experience working in IT infrastructure, operations, security, and service delivery in sizable and complex organizations such as Phillips Electronics, William E. Connor & Associates, and IBM.

Daniel is a trusted and experienced senior information security analyst who has led security operations and project development for complex information security programs.

He brings specific experience in enhancing access controls, improving identify creation, designing and developing security event managements systems, conducting security and vulnerability assessments, securing MS Office SharePoint data management, implementing technical security, and delivering information security awareness sessions.

Arshdeep Sidhu

ISO 27001 Implementer

Arshdeep is an Information Security and Computer Applications Specialist. She has experience working with Deloitte as a Consultant in Risk Advisory, and the Government of Manitoba as an Information Security Analyst and Risk Analyst with Manitoba Shared Health.

She possesses vast expertise in risk and vulnerability assessment, security policies, and their implementation. Additionally, she has experience in privileged access management, security awareness training, and risk management documentation. She's skilled in investigating security incidents and offers guidance on security controls for projects.

Arshdeep is skilled in programming languages like C, C++, and Java, and has expertise in data structures, operating systems, web development, and software engineering. She also has advanced knowledge in data communication, Linux, database management, and Java programming from her Master of Computer Applications.

Jason Winter

ABCP

Jason is an accomplished technology strategist and senior-level leader. He has 28 years of experience & and leadership skills in strategic and financial planning, technology strategy, process improvement, disaster recovery, emergency management, business continuity and change management.

Jason is certified in business continuity and emergency management.

He has abilities in overseeing the creation of data center and desktop infrastructure, as well as enterprise applications. He focuses on crafting disaster recovery and business continuity plans, as well as establishing redundancy in core networking and storage infrastructure.

A significant portion of Jason's background involves the introduction and execution of technical architecture standards and technology solutions, including mobile time entry solutions, electronic health record systems, warehouse management systems, and desktop management toolsets.

Bob Dery

Strategic and Technical Advisor

Bob is a Senior Security Infrastructure Specialist who spent 18 of 25 years at Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) working in advanced infrastructure technology as a service for MTS external customers. He has unmatched experience working across Manitoba on a large variety of information security-related projects with numerous clients spread across multiple industry sectors.

Bob has 10 years of extensive Cybersecurity Consulting experience in Healthcare, Education, Telecommunications and Financial Services Industries. He is proficient in WAN/firewall/VPN/IPS/IDS/SIEM technologies and experienced in multi-vendor technologies environments -Cisco, Checkpoint, Fortinet, McAfee, and Plunk.

He is experienced with Offensive Security, and Defensive Security software packages such as OSSIM, OSSEC, SecurityOnion, Snort, Splunk, USMA, and Fortinet UTMs. He has Working knowledge of AWS Cloud Security And shell scripting in Linux and Scripting in Phyton, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software packages such as Intelisis.

Bob also has his CISSP, CEH and CNSS certifications.

Poonam Sharma

Business Operations Manager

Poonam is a Business Ops Manager and graduated with an advanced diploma in Business Technology Management and has skills in Programming and Web languages. She is certified with Truth and reconciliation education from First Nations University. She has experience in Business Analysis and Project Management which includes leading teams and preparing documents and reports, analyzing and researching, and gathering requirements.

She is responsible for leading and conducting proactive key day-to-day business activities, coordination, deliverables, relationship building, operational, administrative, and service delivery activities in conjunction with and based on oversight from the executive cadre and technical experts to build the business and ensure the highest quality deliverables/client service. She works closely with the Castellan Executive Cadre as a team to jointly identify and implement the best approach to the coordination of business activities. Also, she strives to implement technology, new processes, and innovative solutions to continually improve Castellan's business operations and services for clients, staff and partners. As a part of her role, She manages the bench of experts and opportunity pipeline.

Murray Hill

Director of Sales

Murray Hill is the founder of Living is Selling and Director of Sales for Castellan Information Security Services. He has 30+ years of experience in advertising, sales and marketing. Murray has a unique ability to understand the ever-changing advertising world and to apply the changes in a fast-paced business environment.

He has valuable skills in marketing and online as well as social media communications, media buying and relations, blogging, sponsorship, digital media and broadcasting.

He has been an excellent advisor, community engagement, and client mentor for all things to do with business strategy and is highly sought out for his vast knowledge of broadcast advertising. He has extensive experience leading senior-level management, and development roles for reputable non-profit, business for profit and governing institutions with tremendous results.

Our bench of experts

Castellan Information Security Services, a renowned player in the cybersecurity industry, boasts a formidable bench of security and cybersecurity expert consultants (contractors) who stand at the forefront of safeguarding digital assets and ensuring the integrity of information systems. The company has assembled a diverse and highly skilled team of professionals who are dedicated to the mission of protecting their clients from the ever-evolving threats in cyberspace.

Their combination of experience, dedication to ongoing learning, commitment to customized solutions, and proactive approach to cybersecurity make them a formidable force in the industry. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, Castellan's experts are well-prepared to adapt and innovate, ensuring their clients remain protected in an increasingly complex and challenging cybersecurity environment.

Examples of experts on or bench include:

  • Security Architects
  • Security Analysts
  • Security Engineers
  • Security Consultants
  • Security Project/Program Managers
  • Business Resilience Consultants (Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity)
  • Risk & Compliance Analysts/Consultants
  • Governance & Policy Consultants
  • Identity & Access Management Analysts/Consultants
  • Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment Experts

TOP-RATED CREDENTIALS

Certifications

Castellan markets our own staff and a bench of ~100 industry leading information security experts for our projects and to our clients for staff augmentation, service delivery and project implementation.