Sonu Shankar appointed Phosphorus President & COO after growth

Phosphorus Cybersecurity has named Sonu Shankar, previously Chief Product Officer, as its new President and Chief Operating Officer.

The appointment follows what the company described as a record-breaking quarter in terms of growth, reflecting heightened enterprise demand for security hygiene and automation across the extended Internet of Things (xIoT).

Executive changes

Sonu Shankar, according to Phosphorus Founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Rouland, brings a blend of business leadership and technical expertise. Rouland said,

"Sonu is an industry veteran with the rare ability to bridge business leadership and engineering depth - he can run the boardroom in the morning and talk APIs in the afternoon. His leadership has been essential in positioning Phosphorus as the only provider with patented technology capable of delivering end-to-end xIoT discovery, remediation, and management. He's been key in driving the company toward device management autonomy in a world of 60 billion connected devices - and growing - that have never had human owners. As President and COO, Sonu will continue to help us scale globally and ensure our customers remain secure and resilient."

The company said Shankar has played a central role in developing its platform's autonomous management capabilities, allowing for automated security and management of xIoT environments under his product leadership.

Art Coviello, Chairman of the Phosphorus Board of Directors, also commented on the appointment, stating,

"Phosphorus is solving one of the most complex and urgent challenges in cybersecurity, securing the world's growing fleet of unmanaged devices. Sonu's vision and proven track record make him exactly the kind of executive I trust to help shape the future of this industry."

Autonomy and security concerns

Enterprises across sectors are facing challenges related to the proliferation of unmanaged and unmonitored connected devices, including Internet of Things (IoT), Operational Technology (OT), and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) assets. This proliferation has resulted in these endpoints significantly outnumbering human asset managers in many organisations.

Security of such devices has become a matter of increasing concern, as many are deployed with default passwords, vulnerable firmware, and insecure configurations. Regulatory agencies in various regions have responded by banning certain devices and increasing focus on minimum security standards, such as enforcing regular password changes, firmware patches, and stricter configuration management.

Phosphorus states it has developed its platform to automate processes such as device discovery, risk assessment, remediation, compliance enforcement, and lifecycle management. The company says these enhancements contribute toward an autonomous future where xIoT assets can be managed without manual intervention.

Sonu Shankar said,

"We see the shift from humans in the loop to humans on the loop as inevitable. Phosphorus is pioneering xIoT-focused agentic AI, built on the world's most complete xIoT data, enabling proactive, autonomous decision-making and action at a scale beyond human capability. Phosphorus was founded to harness this shift for the world of xIoT, and I'm honored to lead this next chapter as we help customers reclaim control of their unmanaged device landscapes."

Platform use and adoption

Phosphorus reports that customers, including Fortune 10 and Global 2000 organisations, employ its platform to automatically identify and remediate risks across substantial numbers of devices. The company pointed to case studies where these capabilities allowed smaller IT and security teams to exercise oversight and risk management across extensive device fleets without direct manual involvement.

During the recent quarter, Phosphorus claims to have scanned more than 5 billion IP addresses, increasing the visibility of previously untracked devices and pacing what the company describes as improved cybersecurity management. Year-over-year figures shared by the company show a 157% increase in automated xIoT device password rotations and a 65% growth in firmware updates.

Market reach

Phosphorus has assembled an xIoT device intelligence dataset that it considers both broad and deep. Its customers are drawn from manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, data centre operations, and defence sectors, with significant deployments reported across North America, Saudi Arabia, and Asia Pacific.

The company notes that its xIoT security and management platform is designed to address the growing surface area presented by unknown and untracked devices. Features of its platform include asset discovery, risk assessment, proactive security measures, and ongoing monitoring, with an emphasis on automating responses to common operational risks such as default credentials, outdated software, and device compliance.