Computer security, cyber security, digital security or information technology security is the protection of computer systems and networks from attacks by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, theft of, or damage to hardware, software, or data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
Security engineering is the process of incorporating security controls into an information system so that the controls become an integral part of the system’s operational capabilities. It is similar to other systems engineering activities in that its primary motivation is to support the delivery of engineering solutions that satisfy pre-defined functional and user requirements, but it has the added dimension of preventing misuse and malicious behavior. Those constraints and restrictions are often asserted as a security policy.
The SANS Institute is a private U.S. for-profit company founded in 1989 that specializes in information security, cybersecurity training, and selling certificates. Topics available for training include cyber and network defenses, penetration testing, incident response, digital forensics, and auditing. The information security courses are developed through a consensus process involving administrators, security managers, and information security professionals. The courses cover security fundamentals and technical aspects of information security. The institute has been recognized for its training programs and certification programs. Per 2021, SANS is the world’s largest cybersecurity research and training organization. SANS is an acronym for SysAdmin, Audit, Network, and Security.
Edward William Felten is the Robert E. Kahn Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs at Princeton University, where he was also the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy from 2007 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. On November 4, 2010, he was named Chief Technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, a position he officially assumed January 3, 2011. On May 11, 2015, he was named the Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer. In 2018, he was nominated to and began a term as Board Member of PCLOB.
In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability. The name "In-Q-Tel" is an intentional reference to Q, the fictional inventor who supplies technology to James Bond.
Peiter C. Zatko, better known as Mudge, is an American network security expert, open source programmer, writer, and hacker. He was the most prominent member of the high-profile hacker think tank the L0pht as well as the computer and culture hacking cooperative the Cult of the Dead Cow.
Chris Wysopal is an entrepreneur, computer security expert and co-founder and CTO of Veracode. He was a member of the high-profile hacker think tank the L0pht where he was a vulnerability researcher.
Mwende Window Snyder, better known as Window Snyder, is an American computer security expert. She has been a top security officer at Square, Inc., Apple, Fastly, Intel and Mozilla Corporation. She was also a senior security strategist at Microsoft. She is co-author of Threat Modeling, a standard manual on application security.
Bitdefender is a Romanian cybersecurity technology company headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, with offices in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Security convergence refers to the convergence of two historically distinct security functions – physical security and information security – within enterprises; both are integral parts of a coherent risk management program. Security convergence is motivated by the recognition that corporate assets are increasingly information-based. In the past, physical assets demanded the bulk of protection efforts, whereas information assets are demanding increasing attention. Although generally used in relation to cyber-physical convergence, security convergence can also refer to the convergence of security with related risk and resilience disciplines, including business continuity planning and emergency management. Security convergence is often referred to as 'converged security'.
In computer science, a monoculture is a community of computers that all run identical software. All the computer systems in the community thus have the same vulnerabilities, and, like agricultural monocultures, are subject to catastrophic failure in the event of a successful attack.
Elie Bursztein, born 1 June 1980 in France, is a French computer scientist and software engineer. He currently leads Google’s Security and Anti-Abuse Research Team.
The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame, founded by Larry Letow and Rick Geritz, was established in 2012 to recognize the contributions of key individuals in the field of cyber security; its mission statement is, Respect the Past - Protect the Future. According to its website, it is designed to honor the innovative individuals and organizations which had the vision and leadership to create the fundamental building blocks for the cybersecurity Industry. The organization also highlights major milestones in the industry's 40-year history through a timeline representation, which includes inductees and their corresponding accomplishments.
Cyren Inc. was a cloud-based Internet security technology company that provided security services and threat intelligence to businesses. It offered a range of services including web security, DNS security, anti-spam solutions, phishing detection, ransomware protection, URL filtering, malware detection, and botnet attack prevention. Cyren also provided endpoint protection for mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT) gateways. Major clients included Microsoft, Google, Check Point, Dell, T-Mobile, and Intel. The company announced its closure in February 2023.
Roger Dingledine is an American computer scientist known for having co-founded the Tor Project. A student of mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering, Dingledine is also known by the pseudonym arma. As of December 2016, he continues in a leadership role with the Tor Project, as a project Leader, Director, and Research Director.
Katie Moussouris is an American computer security researcher, entrepreneur, and pioneer in vulnerability disclosure, and is best known for her ongoing work advocating responsible security research. Previously a member of @stake, she created the bug bounty program at Microsoft and was directly involved in creating the U.S. Department of Defense's first bug bounty program for hackers. She previously served as Chief Policy Officer at HackerOne, a vulnerability disclosure company based in San Francisco, California, and currently is the founder and CEO of Luta Security.
Iftach Ian Amit is an Israeli Hacker/computer security researcher and practitioner. He is one of the co-founders of the Tel Aviv DEF CON Group DC9723, the Penetration Testing Execution Standard, and presented at hacker conventions such as DEF CON, Black Hat, BlueHat, RSA Conference. He has been named SC Magazine's top experts and featured at Narratively's cover piece on Attack of the Superhackers and is frequently quoted and interviewed
ThetaRay is a fintech software and big data analytics company with headquarters in Hod HaSharon, Israel and New York, and offices in Madrid, London, and Singapore.
Ashar Aziz is a Pakistani–American electrical engineer, business executive, and philanthropist. He is best known as the founder of Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company FireEye. A former billionaire, Aziz had an estimated net worth of over $ 233 million as of 2015.
James W. Mickens is an American computer scientist and the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. His research focuses on distributed systems, such as large-scale services and ways to make them more secure. He is critical of machine learning as a boilerplate solution to most outstanding computational problems.
