Co-founder & COO, Tictac Cyber Security & Data Recovery · Co-founder, CyberX · Keynote Speaker
Technology entrepreneur working in cyber-attack response, data recovery and training. He takes part in negotiations with ransomware groups on behalf of companies and organisations in Greece and abroad, teaches seminars, speaks at conferences on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, and comments on technology news for television, radio and the press.
- 2,500+
- cyber-incident response cases
- Since 2017
- negotiating with ransomware groups
- 30+ years
- in technology
- 11 awards
- Cyber Security Awards 2023–2025, with Tictac
- Since 2003
- speaking at conferences and seminars
Current roles
- Tictac Cyber Security & Data Recovery — Co-founder & Chief Operations Officer. Ransomware incident response, digital forensics, data recovery, managed security. Leads the negotiations in ransomware incidents. Company certifications: ISO 9001, 27001, 22301, 14001.
- CyberX — Co-founder. Cybersecurity services for the insurance market and insurance-fraud investigations.
- Optima Cyber — Co-founder. Maritime cybersecurity.
- Mmerge Solutions — Shareholder.
- StartComply — AI-powered GRC platform (NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001), developed by Tictac together with K3Y Labs.
- Instructor & advisor — Executive training in artificial intelligence, staff security-awareness training, seminars on cryptocurrencies and fraud recognition.
Career
| Period | Role |
|---|---|
| 2025 – present | Co-founder, Optima Cyber |
| 2020 – present | Co-founder, CyberX |
| 2017 – present | Ransomware negotiator · Bitcoin & blockchain seminar instructor |
| 2013 – 2020 | Project Manager of web development teams and technical advisor on an international project |
| 2010 – present | Co-founder & COO, Tictac (acquisition of Tictac Data Recovery, today Tictac Cyber Security & Data Recovery) |
| 2009 – 2010 | Co-founder, texnikoi.com, a nationwide computer support network |
| 2006 – 2021 | University of Western Macedonia, Department of Networks |
| 2004 – present | Founder, AKTOWEB: web design, SEO, hosting, IT support |
Areas of expertise
- Cybersecurity: ransomware incident response and negotiation, digital forensics, NIS2, ISO 27001, board-level crisis management
- Artificial intelligence: executive training, AI agents, process automation
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin education, blockchain analysis, fraud recognition
- Entrepreneurship: founding and growing technology companies
Education & certifications
- University of Sheffield, UK — MSc Information Systems Management
- Hellenic Open University — Computer Science
- University of Western Macedonia — Electrical Engineering
- Certifications: Google Cybersecurity (Coursera) · Microsoft MS-900 Cloud Fundamentals · ACE Lab Data Recovery Specialist · Acronis Technical Certifications for Data Recovery · Python (Coursity)
- In progress: CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) · CFCE (Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, IACIS)
Short bio for event organisers
Mike Mingos is co-founder of Tictac Cyber Security & Data Recovery and of CyberX, with experience in more than 2,500 cyber-incident response cases and in negotiations with ransomware groups. He is a seminar instructor and conference keynote speaker on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, and a regular commentator in the Greek media.
Conference Speaking
Every talk I give is based on real stories. People don’t want theory; they want to understand what could happen to them and how to protect themselves.
- Acronis Day Athens 2026 — Threat Landscape 2026 (Panathinaikos venue, March 2026)
- Atecluster & Thessaloniki Innovation Zone 2024 — Black Mirror: Cyber-attack scenarios from the future
- Democritus University of Thrace 2025 — Cyberattacks against individuals
- Acronis Day Greece 2023 — Ransomware Incident Response & Decryption by Tictac
- 1st Blockchain Conference Thessaloniki 2022 — Cryptocurrency & NFT scams
- Infocom Security 2022 — Ghostbusters: How to fight an invisible enemy
- HotelTech 2022 — Cyber Security in hotels
- Posidonia 2022 — Maritime Cyber Security with Tictac
- Infocom World 2021 — The 7 deadly sins of Cyber Security
- ICT Security Pro 2019 — 10 simple rules of cyber protection
- Infocom Security 2019 — Bitcoin introductory seminar
- Infocom Security 2016 — Locked out of our data (PDF)
- Infocom Security 2015 — Data under siege (with P. Pierros) (PDF, Workshop: Permanent Data Deletion)
- University of Western Macedonia 2014 — Innovation Day
- E-themis Legal Conference 2012 — Digital evidence
- Salvationdata Global Data Recovery Conference 2011 — Scratches & Difficult Cases
See my official speaker profile at Click Events / InfoCom Conferences.
TV & Radio
- SBS Greek (Australia) — DeCode 2026 — Cybersecurity starts with people
- Mega Channel 2024 — Crypto Mining (Nikos Evangelatos)
- Skai Radio 2024 — What is Bitcoin (Giorgos Psaltis)
- Action24 2024 — Dismantling of LockBit
- Action24 2024 — SkyECC & cryptocurrencies in cybercrime
- Alpha Radio 2023 — Children & internet safety (Tassoula Papanikolaou)
- Star Channel 2022 — Blindchat & criminals (Katerina Tsamouri)
- Bluesky / CSIi 2022 — Dark Web (Manolis Sfakianakis)
- Bluesky / CSIi 2022 — Phishing & investment scams
- SKAI TV 2015 — Celebrity photo leaks (Anna Bousdoukou)
Podcasts
- Money 2.0 — CryptoCapitalist with Giorgos Tzegas — Cybersecurity in simple words
Workshops
- How a Ransomware infection happens (2020)
- Ransomware Protection Guide (2019)
- The best Backup — Tictac DRaaS (2019)
- Free data recovery — Digitalife Magazine
- Easy phone-to-phone data transfer — Piceasoft
Press
- Protothema.gr — Ransomware attacks escalating in Europe (2025)
- Euro2day.gr — Cyber threats facing Greek companies (2024)
- BankingNews.gr — NIS2: Million-Euro fines
- Star.gr — Cyber Security: Biggest threats of 2024
- Capital.gr — How a hacker tried to steal half a million (2023)
- Newsbomb.gr — 9 truths and myths about hacking (2023)
- Newsbomb.gr — Expert reveals how ransomware negotiation works
- Insurance Forum — 1st Blockchain Conference coverage (2022)
- Insurance Forum — 1st Cyber Security Conference
- Security Pro Magazine — Data recovery from storage media (2012)
- Myphone.gr — Remote technical support (2012)
- IT Security Pro — 5th Infocom Security Conference Report 2016
Selected talks & articles (in Greek)
- Choose your Happy! Entrepreneur or employee — Career Days 2024, Region of Western Macedonia
- How I start my own business — University of Western Macedonia, 2019
- How I built my own business with no capital and no time — 2016
- How to start on a business idea right away
- Skills for the 2020 job market: specialisation & entrepreneurship
- Succeeding by failing
Awards & Recognition (Tictac Cyber Security)
As Tictac’s COO I have been part of 11 awards across 3 years at the Cyber Security Awards (Boussias), judged by a jury chaired by Prof. Sokratis Katsikas. See winners:
2025 (6 awards):
- GOLD — Tictac & UNILOG (Incident Response)
- GOLD — Tictac & Evrofarma (Vulnerability Management)
- SILVER — Tictac & SEPTONA (Disaster Recovery <20 min)
- SILVER — Tictac & Panathinaikos F.C. (Email Security)
- SILVER — Tictac & CyberX (Cyber Insurance)
- BRONZE — Tictac & KYKNOS (Identity Access Management)
2024: BRONZE — Tictac & PHAROS Pharmaceuticals (Disaster Recovery Site)
2023 (4 awards): GOLD Melpaper · SILVER Ransomware IR · GOLD Endpoint Security · BRONZE Cybersecurity Leadership
Also 2025: Brand of the Year 2025 (Marketing Achievement Awards) · Acronis Loyalty Award 2025 (MSSP Global)
Partnerships & external profiles
- The Crime Lab — External partner for Blockchain investigations
- TÜV Nord Hellas — CryptoAwakening 2020 instructor
- Click Events / InfoCom Conferences speaker profile
- SlideShare presentations library
Contact & Network
1,300+ YouTube subscribers · 1,500+ blog subscribers
- Blog: mikemingos.gr/en
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mmingos
- YouTube: youtube.com/mmingos
- X / Twitter: @mmingos
- SlideShare: slideshare.net/mmingos
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/mmingos