David Gittens

Cybersecurity Consultant

David Gittens is an independent, Barbados-based, cybersecurity consultant and a seasoned cybersecurity professional. He has spent a number of years providing cybersecurity services to global and regional banks and governmental organisations, including several years working in the area of cybersecurity risk. In 2021 he was voted one of the top ten security & resilience professionals in the entire Caribbean region by ISJ – Information Security Journal. In 2024 he became a Commonwealth Caribbean Cyber Security Fellow – this new Commonwealth initiative intends to help promote cybersecurity within the Caribbean region.

For about four years David sat on a national cybersecurity working group which provided advisory services to government. He also worked with the OAS and other cybersecurity experts to create Barbados’ first National Cybersecurity Strategy. Other national roles included him heading up the Anti-fraud Committee of the Barbados Bankers Association (which is the committee responsible for fighting fraud in the local banking and credit union arena), as well as him being the founding president of the ISSA (Information Systems Security Association) Barbados chapter, which was the first such chapter in this part of the world.

David has a passion for developing and promoting the cybersecurity profession. To this end he has spent many years involved in the development of cybersecurity associations, as well as cybersecurity credentials. For the past year he has been part of the Cerebellum Project, which is an international initiative to provide effective guardrails for safe, secure, responsible, and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI).

David attained a BSc (Honours) in Electronic & Electrical Engineering from Loughborough University of Technology in the UK. He received his Masters in Information Systems Management from the University of Liverpool in the UK. Security certifications currently held include the CISSP, CRISC, CISA, CISM, CCSP, CCSK, AC|CISO, CSX-P, HISP, Security+, eCPPT, CHFI, and CDPSE.