Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA – March 24, 2014

Too often in information security, the leaders in the industry are only recognized when something terrible happens – their companies are breached and suddenly their names are all over the news. EC-Council Foundation, the non-profit founded by the founders of EC-Council, is looking to reverse this trend and honor the top information security professionals for their positive contributions to the industry. Chief Information Security Officer tends to be a job that the outside world only notices when something bad happens, but EC-Council Foundation would like to bring positive recognition to this often thankless job. At this year’s Global CISO Forum in Atlanta, GA, EC-Council Foundation is once again looking to shine a light on those security professionals whose work isn’t always heralded. Like last year, the 2014 event will honor security visionaries from around the world in the following categories:

• CISO of the Year – This award, available only to Information Security Executives (VP, CISO, etc.), recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. One executive who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.
• CIO of the Year – This award, available only to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. Security cannot be achieved without the support of management. This is the information security industry’s chance to recognize the leaders that support the security leaders in achieving greatness. One executive who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.
• C|CISO of the Year – This award, available only to EC-Council Certified CISOs (C|CISOs), recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. One C|CISO who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.

The Global CISO Forum runs alongside EC-Council Foundation’s largest security event of the year, Hacker Halted, which draws an audience of white hat, ethical hackers. EC-Council Foundation includes a nod to the executives at their Hacker Halted event as a way of bringing the front-line defenders of security together with the executives who are making security a priority in the boardroom. Eric Lopez, Director of Conferences & Events for EC-Council put it this way “It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the information security industry suffers from a lack of communication. This is not a problem that world of criminal hackers has – they share information far more freely than the security side tends to do. This is EC-Council Foundation trying to bridge that communication gap, not just between peers in the industry, but between executives and analysts, CISOs and network administrators.”

The event will feature high-level, industry-recognized keynote presenters followed by a series of panel discussions designed to go deeper into the issues that keep CISOs awake at night. Also included on the agenda will be a cocktail reception to encourage networking, the Hacker Halted signature party, the CISO Awards Ceremony, breakout groups for writing white papers, training opportunities, and much more.

The annual Global CISO Forum is collocated with EC-Council’s most popular conference, Hacker Halted, now in its eighth year. The Global CISO Forum is limited to C-level executives, VPs, Senior Directors, etc.

To request an invitation, please email amber(dot)williams(at)eccouncil(dot)org.

Full story is available for download at PRWeb.com

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA – February 13, 2014

The Rocket City TakeDownCon hosted by EC-Council partner Dynetics, Inc. will deliver a comprehensive analysis of Cyber Security through EC-Council’s industry-leading training and thought-provoking keynotes in two focused tracks. Delegates will spend Day 1 on the Attack, learning how even the most protected systems can be breached. Day 2 will be dedicated to Defense and delegates will learn how to defend information and networks from nefarious and persistent attacks deployed by cutting edge hackers.

 Keynote speaker Kellman Meghu, the head of security engineering for Checkpoint Software Technologies, will present “How Not To Do Security” which he says, “will use the Star Wars theme to examine how businesses continually fail at some of the most basic security controls. This presentation seeks to do a postmortem on a galactic empire security posture, so that we can learn from their mistakes and hopefully ensure we are not missing key elements in our own security policy.”

Live, instructor-led training in the industry-leading EC-Council suite of certifications, including their flagship Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Hacking Forensics Instructor, Computer Security Analyst, and Licensed Penetration Tester will also be available at the Conference. Other advanced hacking courses will be offered in areas such as Advanced Mobile Hacking and Forensics, Advanced Network Defense, and Securing Windows Infrastructure.

To learn more about The Rocket City TakeDownCon and to register for the event visit: https://www.takedowncon.com/2014/rocketcity.

About Dynetics:
Dynetics delivers the “Power of Solutions” to government and commercial customers in the areas of intelligence, missiles, aviation, cyber and space. Based in Huntsville, Ala., with offices throughout the United States, Dynetics is a mid-tier company that provides complete lifecycle analysis, engineering and hardware solutions to support customer missions.

For more information visit: https://www.dynetics.com

Full story available at PRWeb.com

Atlanta, Georgia, USA – December 04, 2013

EC-Council’s series of Global CISO Forums has made waves in the information security industry and last year was no exception. For the second consecutive year, EC-Council brought the best information security executives from around the world to discuss the ever-changing threat landscape and ever-widening job responsibilities faced by the Chief Information Security Officers in all industries. The events draw attendees and speakers from around the world, including Hong Kong, Egypt, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Canada, the Philippines, Ghana, Sri Lanka, China, Zambia, Nigeria, the UAE, Switzerland, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and all across the United States.

Also making a second appearance at the 2014 event will be the EC-Council CISO Awards – a big hit at the inaugural event this year. Like this year, the 2014 event will honor security visionaries from around the world in the following categories:

• C|CISO of the Year – This award, available only to EC-Council Certified CISOs (C|CISOs), recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. One C|CISO who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.

• CIO of the Year – This award, available only to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. Security cannot be achieved without the support of management. This is the information security industry’s chance to recognize the leaders that support the security leaders in achieving greatness. One executive who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.

• CISO of the Year – This award, available only to Information Security Executives (VP, CISO, etc.), recognizes an individual’s outstanding work in information security. One executive who has contributed to the information security industry, shown tremendous professional growth and achievement, and has promoted strong, innovative security practices will be honored.

EC-Council includes a nod to the executives at their Hacker Halted event as a way of bringing the front-line defenders of security together with the executives who are making security a priority in the boardroom.

Eric Lopez, Director of Conferences & Events for EC-Council put it this way: “It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the information security industry suffers from a lack of communication. This is not a problem that world of criminal hackers has – they share information far more freely than the security side tends to do. This is us trying to bridge that communication gap, not just between peers in the industry, but between executives and analysts, CISOs and network administrators.”

The event will feature high-level, industry-recognized keynote presenters followed by a series of panel discussions designed to go deeper into the issues that keep CISOs awake at night. Also included on the agenda will be a cocktail reception to encourage networking, the Hacker Halted signature party, the CISO Awards Ceremony, breakout groups for writing white papers, training opportunities, and much more.

The annual Global CISO Forum is collocated with EC-Council’s most popular conference, Hacker Halted, now in its eighth year. The Global CISO Forum is limited to C-level executives, VPs, Senior Directors, etc. In order to request an invitation, please email amber.williams(at)eccouncil(dot)org. https://www.eccouncil.org/ciso/events/atlanta-2014/

Atlanta, Georgia USA – November 5, 2013

EC-Council is proud to support CTEF’s initiatives to advance Cyber Security Education in the Florida School Systems and presented the foundation with a check in the amount of $39,800 to support their programs. CTEF approached EC-Council after learning of EC-Council iLabs’ fully automated Cyber Range platform. The iLabs solution not only protects students from unlawful activity over the network or Internet, it also protects the school network by providing a safe environment to test tools and get hands-on experience with a range of cyber attacks, tools, malware, and viruses.

At EC-Council’s national conference, Hacker Halted, EC-Council presented a check to CTEF for $39,800 representing a full 6 months access for 200 students in the Cyber Programs run by CTEF.

Said Steven Graham, Vice President of EC-Council, “We recognize the work Paul and CTEF are doing in the school systems in Florida and realize the next generation workforce will come from these STEM programs. Paul has been an innovator in this field and we are proud to be able to support such an ambitious program. With our technology, we can provide these STEM students the same tools industry professionals have their hands on in a completely safe, controlled environment. We hope the use of these labs and exercises will elevate the hands-on element of CTEF curriculum and enhance the overall program with a more real-world approach to cyber security.”

EC-Council iLabs allows students to dynamically access a host of Virtual Machines preconfigured with vulnerabilities, exploits, tools, and scripts from anywhere with an internet connection. The simple web portal enables students to launch an entire range of target machines and access them remotely with one click. It is the most cost effective, easy to use, live range lab solution available. For more information on iLabs contact steve.graham(at)eccouncil(dot)org or visit https://www.eccouncil.org/ilabs.

CTEF, in turn, has partnered with 9 Florida middle and high schools, including programs offered through Girls Inc. © and Boys and Girls Club of NE Florida. Middle school Cyber Warrior students learn cyber security, safety, and ethics. High school Cyber Warrior students concentrate on cryptography, ethical white-hat hacking, and decryption. High school students are challenged to strategize and collaborate in team competitions like the Cyber Patriot, a high school cyber defense competition created by the Air Force, and a Capture The Flag cyber challenge sponsored by MITRE for high school and college cyber teams.

About CTEF:
Career Technical Education Foundation, Inc. (CTEF) is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) educational foundation created to work with and influence local educational systems through community and industry partnerships. CTEF is recognized nationally as a leader in building collaborative and supportive relationships between education, business and industry. CTEF’s engineering program has been recognized as a top 10 national Project Lead the Way model school, designated a Center of Excellence by Pinellas County Schools, and selected nationally as one of 15 PRIME (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) STEM career academies in the U.S. CTEF has implemented cyber security, engineering, and biomedical programs. In March 2013, the founder and president of CTEF, J. Paul Wahnish, was recognized nationally in the cyber security arena as Information Systems Security Educator-of-the-Year by Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA). Visit https://www.careertechedfoundation.org for additional information.

Full story is available at PRWeb.com

Atlanta, Georgia, USA – October 16, 2013

“It was an exciting day for all involved and we are very proud to have the opportunity to recognize such a trailblazing security professional,” says Jay Bavisi, President of EC-Council, of the awards ceremony at the Global CISO Forum.

Ron Baklarz, Chief Information Security Officer of Amtrak, was chosen from a field of nearly 1,000 other certified CISOs for the honor. EC-Council established the CCISO of the Year award to recognize the pioneers of the information security industry. According to Bavisi “It is important to honor the best and brightest of our immense pool of CCISO talent in order to shine a light on the tremendous growth and importance the CCISO has achieved in the less than 2 years it’s been in existence. EC-Council is honored to count all of our CCISOs as our members.”

Baklarz wasn’t the only CCISO to be recognized by EC-Council, however. There were an impressive list of finalists as well, including Mauricio Angee, the CISO of Mercantil Commercebank; Frank Kai Fat Chow, a Senior Manager of Automated Systems (HK) Ltd.; Paul Horn, the CISO of DynCorp International LLC; Mike Loginov, the CISO of Ascot Barclay Cyber Security Group; Ashish Chandra Mishra, the CISO of Tesco Hindustan Service Centre; Rakesh Radhakrishnan CSA of AMGEN; Paul Swarbrick, CISO of NATS, the National Air Traffic Service; and Silas Mohale, the CISO of ASTUTE FSE (PTY) LTD. Finalist traveled from around the world to attend the Forum and awards ceremony to participate in the keynotes, panels, and networking events taking place at the Global CISO Forum.

What set Baklarz apart from the pool of applicants was the impressive number of firsts he’s achieved in his career. Currently the CISO of Amtrak, Baklarz oversees an impressive information security operation. Amtrak is America’s Railroad®, the nation’s intercity passenger rail service and its high-speed rail operator. A record 31.6 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in FY 2013 on more than 300 daily trains – at speeds up to 150 mph (241 kph) – that connect 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian Provinces. During this period, Amtrak earned $2.1 billion in ticket revenue while employing more than 20,000 people.

The complexity and importance of this organization is staggering. Prior to his tenure with Amtrak, Baklarz’s career includes an impressive series of firsts, including being one of the first information security managers in the Naval Nuclear Program, being the first Information security manager at the US House of Representatives, building the first secure operations center at Prudential Insurance, being the first CISO at the American Red Cross, and the first CISO at Amtrak. His career in information security is unparalleled as he’s served in CISO positions in military, government, healthcare, nonprofit, private sector, and transportation organizations. He is truly a leader in information security and among the first-ever certified CISOs through EC-Council.

Story available on PRWeb.com

Atlanta, Georgia USA – October 16, 2013

“It was an exciting day for all involved and we are very proud to have the opportunity to recognize such a dynamic and up-and-coming security professional,” says Jay Bavisi, President of EC-Council, of the awards ceremony at the Global CISO Forum.

Sanath Manatunge, Chief Risk Officer of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was chosen from dozens of other top professionals nominated for the honor. EC-Council established the CISO of the Year award to recognize the pioneers of the information security industry. According to Bavisi “Recognizing the best information security executive at our annual Hacker Halted conference felt important to the industry as we all need to work together to secure the world’s organizations – from the front line technical people all the way up to the top of corporations and governments.”

Manatunge wasn’t the only executive to be recognized by EC-Council, however. There were an impressive list of finalists as well, including Justin Dolly, ServiceNow VP & Chief Information Security Officer; Nikesh Dubey, AGC Networks Inc. Senior Cybersecurity Specialist/Security Projects Manager; Edward    Goetz, Exelon Corporation VP & CISO; Muhammad Saleem, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia CISO; Gary Sheehan, ASMGi Chief Security Officer; and Paul Swarbrick; NATS, the UK National Air Traffic Service Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Cyber Security. Finalists traveled from around the world to attend the Forum and awards ceremony to participate in the keynotes, panels, and networking events taking place at the Global CISO Forum.

This global award recognizes Manatunge’s pioneering efforts in introducing a dedicated, independent IT Risk Management Function at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC in 2012. The Bank was the first local bank to undertake such an initiative which has contributed greatly in strengthening the information security and operational risk management strategy of the Bank. What set Manatunge apart from the pool of applicants was the amount of innovation he’s achieved in his short time at the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC is the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1,000 banks for three successive years. Recognized as the ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for 15 consecutive years by Global Finance Magazine, Commercial Bank has also won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from The Banker, FinanceAsia, Euromoney and Trade Finance magazines.

The Bank is highly reliant on its IT infrastructure and the information it contains for its day-to-day operations as well as for its long-term strategies. Consequently, risk management plays a critical role in protecting the Bank’s information assets, as well as processes from IT-related risk. Manatunge has been able to establish the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC as a role model to other Banks by setting a higher benchmark in the areas of information security and risk management that will contribute to the financial services industry as a whole. Manatunge was nominated for this recognition by Boshan Dayartne, the CEO of CICRA Holdings.

Story available at PRWeb.com

Atlanta, Georgia USA – October 16, 2013

“It was an exciting day for all involved and we are very proud to have the opportunity to recognize not only the warriors who are fighting the cybersecurity battle day in and day out, but also the managers who set them up for success,” says Jay Bavisi, President of EC-Council, of the awards ceremony at the Global CISO Forum.

Tim Grieveson, Chief Information Officer of G4S Risk Management, was chosen from dozens of nominees for the honor. EC-Council established the CIO of the Year award to recognize those who may not be security practitioners themselves but who support the mission of information security. As Bavisi noted in his address to the Global CISO Forum audience, there is some debate about to whom the CISO position should report and there was an hour-long panel later in the agenda to discuss just that issue, but as it stands now, the most common structure is for the CISO to report to the CIO. According to Bavisi, “… we gave our industry the opportunity to nominate those CIOs that are doing their absolute best to support the security of their organizations as advances in infosec are meaningless in our corporations and governments without upper management support.”

What set Grieveson apart from the pool of applicants was the fact that he is an inspirational ‘Big Corporate’ CIO and IT Transformation Director with over 16 years’ IT experience and over 10 years Information Security experience. He is changing and challenging the way in which technology supports businesses in his role as CIO at G4S Risk Management, which is part of the G4S group, the world’s second largest private employer with some 675,000 staff globally. He is responsible for the direction and strategy of Global ICT and Information Security for the organization. His commitment to security is recognized throughout the industry. Mike Loginov, a Certified CISO with the Ascot Barclay Group, nominated Mr. Grieveson for the honor.

Full story is available at PRWeb.com

Atlanta, GA, USA – August 7, 2013

Charlie Miller of Twitter’s Product Security Team leads the pack of notable and industry-leading speakers set to present at Hacker Halted, EC-Council’s offensive cyber security and hacking conference. Miller was the first with a public remote exploit for both the iPhone and G1 Android phones, and is a four-time winner of the CanSecWest Pwn2Own hacking competition. A PhD from the University of Notre Dame, as well as an accomplished author, Charlie Miller spent 5 years at the NSA and has been a consultant at Accuvant Labs and Independent Security Evaluators.

Miller will discuss how mobile operating systems defend themselves as well as give examples of mobile operating system exploits.

Miller stated, “I’ll clarify how easy (or hard) it is to write exploits and attack mobile devices, from the perspective of someone who has written exploits for most mobile platforms.” Miller went on to say, “I’ll also outline how easy (or hard) it is to write mobile malware and what malware of this kind can do. Finally, I’ll address mobile security software and how it works (or doesn’t).”

By the end of this talk, you’ll be in a better position to determine the risk mobile devices present and differentiate the reality from the hype.
Hacker Halted attendees can look forward to Charlie Miller, and over 50 other high-caliber speakers, in addition to a plethora of non-vender specific, pre-conference hacking courses. For more information, or to register, go to https://www.hackerhalted.com .

About Hacker Halted:
EC-Council’s flagship information security conference, Hacker Halted, aims to raise awareness toward increased education and ethics in information security. This information security conference series covers in-depth topics into the development of security issues plaguing the world. Hacker Halted features many world-renowned subject matter experts and high-level speakers, as well as some of the best technology companies showcasing their products and services. Hacker Halted provides the most sought after technical training and certification classes offered through Hacker Halted Academy by top training companies and led by well-respected instructors. Hacker Halted has grown; from a single annual conference in Miami to a global conference series with events held in Malaysia, Dubai, Egypt, Singapore, Mexico, and Japan since its inception in 2009.

EC-Council’s flagship information security conference, Hacker Halted USA, officially starts on September 19th in Atlanta. Now in its sixth year, the conference consists of over 50 briefs by leading security researchers, divided into three-tracks over three days, and four days of advanced technical training by the industry’s top instructors.

“This year’s Hacker Halted USA is focusing on a wide range of escalating threats, from mobile security and the cloud to critical infrastructure targets,” said Eric Lopez, director of conferences and events for EC-Council. “Top security researchers from around the world, will be showcasing the latest vulnerabilities on which corporations, financial firms, government agencies and SMBs need to focus. In conjunction with Hacker Halted is the Global CISO Forum, an invitation-only event for top infosec executives to share information and discusses successes, failures and best practices.”

A recent study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated cyber attacks cost the global economy $300 billion each year – and $100 million per year in the US. With such a massive impact on the global economy, more businesses and governments are seeking out new solutions and more proactive strategies to combat it. Information security conferences like Hacker Halted provide a unique glimpse into the world of hackers and give corporate executives, IT professionals and security teams a chance to preview the latest threats and defense strategies.

Here are key highlights of Hacker Halted USA:

• Hacker Halted USA runs from September 19-21 at the Atlanta Downtown Hilton
• Four keynotes by leading industry experts, including Charlie Miller, Adrian Crenshaw, Winn Schwartau and Ira Winkler
• 43 talks by top security experts, including well-known organizations like the US Army, U.S. Treasury, Facebook, Square, RSA, Qualys, McAfee’s Foundstone Division, Salesforce and Penn State University
• Presentations to cover latest vulnerabilities and hacking threats for mobile devices, the cloud, critical infrastructure and more
• Four days of advanced technical training (September 15-18) before the conference, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI), Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Advanced Penetration Testing, Advanced Mobile Hacking & Forensics, Advanced Network Defense, Hacking Secure Encryption & Countermeasures, Ultimate Malware Analysis, Snort Fundamentals, Ultimate Hacking: Human, Network Forensics and more
• Global CyberLympics, an international hacking competition, will have its World Finals on September 19th
• Global CISO Forum, an exclusive summit for information security executives, takes place in conjunction with Hacker Halted, from September 19-20 in Atlanta

Full story available for download at PRWeb.com

Reykjavik, Iceland – July 29, 2013

The 2013 Global CISO Forum Europe will mark the fifth executive-level information security event presented by EC-Council. Presented in partnership with Promennt, an Icelandic-based IT training corporation, the Global CISO Forum (GCF) is EC-Council‘s annual CISO event that brings CISOs from all over the world together to focus on the real information security threats to networks, companies, and nations – and for the first time ever it’s going to be held in Europe! The GCF Europe will be held in conjunction with Hacker Halted, EC-Council’s largest and most popular security event also coming to Europe for the first time, creating a mix of executives and hackers. EC-Council’s CISO Program has over 1,000 participants from across industries and around the world and their previous events have drawn top executives from Hong Kong, Egypt, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Canada, the Philippines, Ghana, Sri Lanka, China, Zambia, Nigeria, the UAE, Switzerland, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and all across the United States. An international crowd with an emphasis on European countries is expected at this year’s event.

The conference agenda includes a mix of keynotes and panel discussions and boasts speakers from around the industry including Joe Voje, CISO of University of Texas Pan American; Justin Dolly, CISO at VMware; Amar Singh, CISO at Large News Organization; Vincent Grimard, CSO at Nelnet; James Treinen; CTO at Laconic Security; among many others. The topics that will be addressed are Winning the Hearts and Minds of End Users: It’s not what you say, but how you say it; User Awareness Programs Lessons Learned – What works and what doesn’t; Vendor Risk Management Essentials – In the cloud or not….vendor risk management starts from the same place; Should your organization have a Threat Intelligence Function?; In the Hot Seat; Security as a brand – How to market your department for effective security awareness; Drinking from the Fire Hose – Big Data in Enterprise Security; and Big Data Applied. The topics are designed to reach CISOs at all levels and in all industries and address the increasingly difficult role that demands business savvy as well as technical know-how.

What: EC-Council’s Global CISO Forum Europe
Where: Reykjavik, Iceland
When: October 7 – 8, 2013
Venue: HARPA Conference Centre

About the EC-Council CISO Program:    
EC-Council’s CISO Program (https://www.eccouncil.org/ciso/) has three components: CISO Events, the Certified CISO (C|CISO), and CISO Resources – a repository for white papers and articles geared toward a CISO crowd. EC-Council’s CISO Events are invitation only and geared specifically for high-level, executive information security professionals. Combining keynotes with panel discussions, the events are opportunities for CISOs from around the world to hash out the trends and challenges of information security among their peers. The C|CISO is a certification recognizing an individual’s cumulative experience and expertise in executive information security management. Overseen by a board of seasoned and distinguished professionals, the C|CISO Program has certified over 700 IS executives from around the world.