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American cybersecurity expert, author, and entrepreneur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stuart McClure is an American cybersecurity pioneer, artificial intelligence entrepreneur, and author. He is best known as the founding author of Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions, the best-selling cybersecurity book series of all time,[1] and as the co-founder and CEO of Cylance, an AI-based endpoint security company acquired by BlackBerry for US$1.5 billion in 2019.[2][3]
Stuart McClure | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Colorado |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, author, cybersecurity executive |
| Known for | Co-author of Hacking Exposed, co-founder of Cylance, co-founder of Foundstone |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | stuartmcclure |
Over a career spanning more than 35 years, McClure has founded or led seven technology companies, holds nine U.S. patents, has authored or co-authored 12 books and six forewords, and has been involved in nine successful corporate exits.[4]
Early life and education
McClure is a graduate of the University of Colorado.[4] He resides in Irvine, California.[4]
McClure was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 811 on February 24, 1989, when explosive decompression tore open the fuselage of a Boeing 747 over the Pacific Ocean, killing nine passengers.[5] McClure has cited the experience as formative in shaping his philosophy of prevention over reaction, which became the foundation for Cylance's approach to cybersecurity.[5]
Career
Early career and InfoWorld (1992–1999)
McClure founded his first company, Computerese, in Palm Desert, California in 1992, providing IT networking and custom software development services.[4] He operated the company until 1994.
From 1996 to 2002, McClure was a prominent technology journalist for InfoWorld, contributing 132 columns and articles, including 92 installments of his "Security Watch" column — one of the first regular cybersecurity columns in mainstream technology media.[4] His InfoWorld work covered firewalls, VPNs, intrusion detection systems, vulnerability scanners, and emerging security threats.
Foundstone (1999–2004)
In 1999, McClure co-founded Foundstone, a cybersecurity consulting and vulnerability management firm.[4] He served as co-founder, president, and CTO. During this period, he was granted his foundational patent for automated network vulnerability detection and reporting (U.S. patent 7,152,105, granted December 19, 2006).[6] Five continuation patents in the same family were subsequently granted through 2013.
Hacking Exposed (1999–2012)
In 1999, McClure published the first edition of Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions with co-authors Joel Scambray and George Kurtz.[7] The book became the best-selling cybersecurity book in history, with over one million copies sold across seven editions.[1] The series was inducted into the Cybersecurity Canon Hall of Fame.[1]
McClure authored or co-authored seven editions of the main Hacking Exposed series (1999–2012), Web Hacking: Attacks and Defense (2003), and three editions of Hacking Exposed Windows (2001, 2006, 2007). He also wrote forewords for six security publications, including How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk (2016) and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Security Professionals (2018).[4]
McAfee (2004–2012)
Following McAfee's acquisition of Foundstone in 2004, McClure became McAfee's Global Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Risk & Compliance.[4] He held this position through McAfee's $7.8 billion acquisition by Intel in 2010, remaining until 2012.[4]
During his tenure at McAfee, McClure led two high-profile cybersecurity campaigns:
- Operation Aurora (2009–2010) — McClure was involved in investigating the landmark Chinese state-sponsored cyberattack targeting Google and more than 20 major corporations.[8]
- Operation NightDragon (2006–2011) — McClure led this McAfee campaign exposing Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage targeting global energy and petrochemical companies.[9]
Cylance (2012–2019)
In 2012, McClure co-founded Cylance in Irvine, California, pioneering the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for endpoint security.[2] Cylance became the fastest cybersecurity company to reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), achieving that milestone in approximately 3.25 years.[10]
Under McClure's leadership, Cylance led Operation Cleaver in 2014, a campaign exposing Iranian state-sponsored hackers who had infiltrated critical infrastructure worldwide, including airport and airline security systems.[11]
McClure holds several patents related to Cylance's core technology, including patents for automated ML-based multiclass classification of software artifacts (U.S. patent 11,657,317, granted May 23, 2023) and application execution control utilizing ensemble machine learning (U.S. patent 10,235,518, granted March 19, 2019; continuation U.S. patent 10,817,599, granted October 27, 2020).[4]
BlackBerry acquired Cylance for approximately US$1.5 billion in February 2019.[2] McClure departed BlackBerry in September 2019.[12]
Post-Cylance ventures (2020–present)
After departing BlackBerry, McClure launched several AI-focused ventures:
- NumberOne AI (founded 2021) — An AI incubator and accelerator, raising $13 million to develop AI-native companies.[13]
- Qwiet AI (CEO, 2022–2025) — An AI-powered application security platform. Acquired by Harness in September 2025.[4]
- Wethos AI (founded 2024) — An AI platform for understanding and optimizing human potential and team dynamics.[4]
Congressional testimony and government work
McClure's work has been cited in several U.S. congressional proceedings:
- America Is Under Cyber Attack: Why Urgent Action Is Needed — Congressional hearing, April 24, 2012.[14]
- H. Rept. 112-522 — House Committee on Homeland Security legislative and oversight activities report, June 12, 2012.[15]
- The OPM Data Breach — House Oversight Committee report citing Cylance's role in the OPM breach response, stating that "the significance of the cutting edge preventative technology offered by Cylance cannot be understated."[16]
- S.Hrg. 115-140 — Senate hearing on "The Promises and Perils of Emerging Technologies for Cybersecurity," March 22, 2017.[17]
Patents
McClure holds nine U.S. patents spanning network security and artificial intelligence:
| Patent No. | Title | Date granted |
|---|---|---|
| US 7,152,105 B2 | System and Method for Network Vulnerability Detection and Reporting | December 19, 2006 |
| US 8,135,830 B2 | Network Vulnerability Detection and Reporting (Continuation II) | March 13, 2012 |
| US 8,615,582 B2 | Network Vulnerability Detection and Reporting (Continuation III) | December 24, 2013 |
| US 8,621,060 B2 | Network Vulnerability Detection and Reporting (Continuation IV) | December 31, 2013 |
| US 8,621,073 B2 | Network Vulnerability Detection and Reporting (Continuation V) | December 31, 2013 |
| US 8,997,234 B2 | System and Method for Network-Based Asset Operational Dependence Scoring | March 31, 2015 |
| US 10,235,518 B2 | Application Execution Control Utilizing Ensemble Machine Learning | March 19, 2019 |
| US 10,817,599 B2 | Application Execution Control Utilizing Ensemble Machine Learning (Continuation) | October 27, 2020 |
| US 11,657,317 B2 | Automated Systems for Generative Multimodel Multiclass Classification Using Machine Learning | May 23, 2023 |
Investments and board positions
McClure has served on 16 corporate boards and advisory positions.[4] He has made five angel and Series A investments in cybersecurity and AI startups, three of which have exited:
- Demisto — Series A investor; acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $560 million in 2019.[18]
- JASK — Angel investor and board member; acquired by Sumo Logic in 2019.[4]
- Soluble — Investor; acquired by Lacework in 2021.[4]
- Nightfall AI — Series A investor and advisor (2022).[4]
- TechLok Solutions — Lead investor and advisor (2024).[4]
Awards and recognition
Television appearances
McClure has appeared in several television documentaries related to cybersecurity and aviation safety:
- Cyberwar — Viceland documentary series (2016)[4]
- Air Crash Investigation: United Flight 811 — National Geographic (2025)[4]
- Air Disasters: Terror Over the Pacific — Smithsonian Channel (2025)[4]
- Mayday (Air Crash Investigation) — Terror Over the Pacific episode (2026)[4]
Philanthropy
McClure is involved in philanthropic work through:
- Omada Foundation — Supporting community initiatives in Orange County.[20]
- Clavis Foundation — Supporting the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and funding the first-ever endowed chair for integrative medicine at Rady Children's Health Orange County (January 2026).[21]
Selected bibliography
Books
- McClure, Stuart; Scambray, Joel; Kurtz, George (1999–2012). Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions (1st–7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
- McClure, Stuart (2003). Web Hacking: Attacks and Defense. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0201761769.
- Scambray, Joel; McClure, Stuart (2001–2007). Hacking Exposed Windows (1st–3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Selected articles
- "The AI Hype Must Die" — Wethos AI Blog (January 2025)
- "System 3 Thinking: Beyond System 1 and System 2" — LinkedIn (October 2025)
- "Navigating Developer Fatigue in the Cybersecurity Battlefield" — Fast Company (2024)
Personal life
McClure lives in Irvine, California with his family. He is a father of four children and an endurance cyclist.[4] He is a survivor of United Airlines Flight 811 (1989), an experience he has described as the defining moment that shaped his career focus on prevention.[5]