As most people know by now, the cybersecurity community recently lost one of its brightest lights when Vitali Kremez died in a diving accident.

Vitali and his wife Natalia were expecting their first child in a few months from now. His mother, Irina, was here in the U.S. on a visit at the time of his death. It is hard to imagine the grief and loss both Vitali’s mother and wife must be coping with right now.

A GoFundMe has been started by some of Vitali’s friends to help Natalia through this difficult time. As they write:

Vitali was a great friend, a kind soul, a soon-to-be father, and an asset to cyber defenders worldwide. He made the world a better place, and his death leaves a massive hole in our hearts.

It is hard to even paste those words without crying.  I didn’t know Vitali as well as many others, but he really was always kind and helpful when we would talk about cases or threat actors.

Mathew J. Schwartz has a biography on Vitali published shortly after Vitali’s death.

Please: if you can, go to the gofundme page, make a donation to help Natalia and their unborn child, and leave a note for the family.