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State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced West Virginia Treasury Chief Information Officer Rex Crouser has been recognized internationally for his contributions to the cybersecurity community.

Crouser was inducted into the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker Hall of Fame, a new award designed to recognize distinguished cybersecurity professionals around the world who are certified ethical hackers.

“Recent cyberattacks on U.S. companies have underscored the importance of top-notch IT security,” Treasurer Moore said. “I want to congratulate Rex for his accomplishment and thank him for his commitment to the Treasurer’s Office and the security of the public’s money.”

Ethical hackers are responsible for finding weaknesses in an organization’s networks and systems and then using that knowledge to protect the company against potential threats.

“I never thought something like this would even be possible because of the common perception that the word ‘hacker’ means something evil,” Crouser said. “It’s nice to see that attitudes about security are changing.”

The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification demonstrates a person’s ability to find vulnerabilities in computer systems and to prevent hacking. Ethical hackers use the same skills, techniques and knowledge as malicious hackers to help establish better security measures to prevent future attacks.

Established in 2003, the CEH program is the world’s first and longest-running sole ethical hacking certification. It is recognized as the gold standard of ethical hacking.

Crouser is one of 100 ethical hackers in the world to be chosen for the Hall of Fame, which is in its inaugural year. Only 43 were selected from the United States. Awardees include representatives from major corporations like Amazon, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and other government agencies, including the Department of Defense.

As the Chief Information Officer, Crouser heads up the Treasury’s Information Technology Services Software Division. The division is responsible for all internally developed applications and services, including accepting online payments through the agency’s eGov services, as well as specialized application development and websites for internal and external agencies.

“We fill the gaps left by third-party vendors and create custom solutions that allow for automation to occur between state agencies,” Crouser said. “Since we electronically ‘handle’ money for the entire state, security of our services is our utmost concern.”

The Treasury does not collect state taxes. Visit the The West Virginia State Tax Department for assistance.

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