James Arlen
Senior Consultant | Taos
James Arlen, CISA, is a senior consultant at Taos providing security consulting services to the utility and financial verticals. He has been involved with implementing a practical level of information security in Fortune 500, TSE 100, and major public-sector corporations for 18+ years. James is also a contributing analyst with Securosis and has a recurring column on Liquidmatrix Security Digest. Best described as: "Infosec geek, hacker, social activist, author, speaker, and parent." His areas of interest include organizational change, social engineering, blinky lights and shiny things.
Michael Assante
CEO | National Board of Information Security Examiners (NBISE)
Michael Assante is an internationally recognized expert and thought leader in information and cyber security and the recipient of many awards in the space. Mr. Assante most recently held the position of Vice President and Chief Security Officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and oversaw the implementation of cyber security standards across the North American electric power industry. Prior to joining NERC, Assante held notable positions at Idaho National Labs, was Vice President and Chief Security Officer for American Electric Power, and pioneered the security intelligence landscape in his role as Chief Operating Officer of LogiKeep. A former U.S. Navy intelligence officer with experience in information warfare and information security management, Mr. Assante recognized the need to bring intelligence-type analysis to the networks of the corporate world by identifying risks and threats specific to the hardware, software and systems used by individual organizations.
Benjamin Beberness
Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services | Snohomish PUD
Benjamin Beberness has more than 20 years of information technology experience, most recently as Chief Information Officer for Snohomish County PUD. As the CIO of Snohomish County PUD he is responsible for all IT operations and cyber security. Prior to Snohomish, he held the position as Director of Delivery Services for PacifiCorp in Portland, Oregon. He has extensive experience managing a broad range of technology, security and compliance issues including fourteen years in large scale management roles. His background also includes work for Williams Gas Pipeline in Houston, Texas, and the Deloitte and Touché Consulting Group / DRT Systems.
Beberness currently is on the National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization (NESCO) Advisory Board, SAP Utilities Executive Advisory Board and Chairman of the Microsoft Smart Energy Reference Architecture (SERA) Advisory Board.
Beberness holds a bachelor’s of science degree in computer science from Portland State University
Slade Griffin
Principal Consultant | Enernex
Slade Griffin is a security engineer for the Smart Grid Engineering team at EnerNex. He is a consultant supporting cyber security and systems architecture for the Advanced Security Acceleration Project for the Smart Grid (ASAP-SG), Open Home Area Network (OpenHAN), and Smart Grid Networking (SG-Network) groups. Slade has contributed to the UCAIug Home Area Network System Requirements Specification, SG Network System Requirements Specification, Distribution Management (DM) Security Profile, and other blueprint documents for the Smart Grid Security (SG Security) group. He has also recently joined the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) as a member of the Cyber Security Working Group (CSWG), which is developing a comprehensive set of cyber security requirements for the smart grid.
Prior to joining EnerNex, Slade worked in multiple roles within the information security field ranging from forensic analysis, incident handling, policy development, vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Slade has given presentations on emerging threat and attack vectors in multiple forums including, the local Infragard chapter, guest lecturer for Murray State University, and multiple presentations and training classes at the University of Tennessee. He is also scheduled to begin teaching the SANS 560, Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking, course in the summer of 2010 in Knoxville.
Brett Kilbourne
Vice President of Government Affairs and Deputy General Counsel | Utilities Telecom Council
Mr. Kilbourne is currently Vice President of Government Affairs and Deputy General Counsel at the Utilities Telecom Council (“UTC”) where he provides legal guidance to utilities on telecommunications issues both pending before federal and state agencies and being considered in Congress.
UTC is the national representative on telecommunications matters for its electric, gas and water utilities and natural gas pipeline company members, which range in size from large combination electric-gas-water utilities which serve millions of customers, to smaller, rural electric cooperatives and water districts which serve only a few thousand customers each.
Prior to joining UTC in October 1998, Mr. Kilbourne was employed at BellSouth Corporation from 1994-1998 in its Washington, D.C. office where he assisted the legal department on a variety of common carrier, wireless and cable issues. He was also employed at the law firm of Baker & Hostetler from 1991-1994 where he assisted the communications practice, primarily on broadcast and cable television matters. Mr. Kilbourne graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1998 from The Catholic University, Columbus School of Law and is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland.
Bob Lockhart
Senior Analyst | Pike Research
Bob Lockhart is a senior analyst contributing to Pike Research’s smart energy practice, with a focus on cyber security markets. Lockhart is a recognized information security industry leader who spent 31 years at EDS, 17 of which were in information security management.
Lockhart has extensive leadership experience in the global technology and outsourcing industry, having supported more than 200 multinational clients. His career encompasses support or manufacturing, aerospace, government, financial services, outsourcing, and healthcare industries in both the United States and Europe. Lockhart has served multiple roles including Chief Security Officer, Software Manager, Security Portfolio Executive, Solution Architect, and Data Center Manager. He holds a B.Sc. in mathematics from Loyola Marymount University.
Sean McBride
Director of Analysis | Critical Intelligence
In his current position as Director of Analysis he oversees development and execution of the industrial control systems threat and vulnerability intelligence program. Before coming to Critical Intelligence, Sean instituted and led the situational awareness effort for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Control Systems Security Program (CSSP) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Sean's work towards understanding the cyber threat environment for control systems was featured in DHS- and Department of Energy-sponsored trainings, presented to national and international audiences, and requested in support of administrative briefings. Sean holds a CISSP and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree while participating in the NSF/NSA Cyber Corps program under Dr. Corey Schou at Idaho State University.
Patrick Miller
CEO | Energy Sector Security Consortium
Patrick Miller is a security executive who has dedicated his career to the protection and defense of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure. He is the founder of EnergySec and currently its President and CEO. This nonprofit information sharing organization began as a few colleagues meeting for lunch and has grown into a nationwide effort to promote sound security principles in the energy industry through the National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization (NESCO) program.
One of his strengths is the diversity of his professional experience. In Energy, he has held positions with a utility asset owner, a regulator, and a private consulting firm. He has also held key positions in the Insurance, Internet and Telecommunications sectors. Among other credentials he holds the CISA, CRISC, CISSP, ISSAP, SSCP, CEH and IAM certifications.
Patrick is an active member of several critical infrastructure security working groups and a sought after speaker and industry expert on the subjects of critical infrastructure protection, process control system security, regulatory compliance, audit, and privacy."
Steven Parker
VP Technology Research and Projects | Energy Sector Security Consortium (EnergySec)
Steven Parker, CISA, CISSP, is Vice President of Technology Research and Projects at Energy Sector Security Consortium (EnergySec). He was part of the grassroots effort that led to the formation of EnergySec, and has served on its board of directors since 2008.
Steven’s experience includes more than a decade of full-time security work at critical infrastructure organizations including the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, PacifiCorp, and US Bank. He has contributed to a broad range of security projects covering areas such as e-commerce, identity management, intrusion detection, forensics, and security event monitoring.
Ward Pyles CISSP, NSA, ITIL
Sr. Security Analyst | Southern Company
Ward Pyles is a Sr. Security Analyst with Southern Company the premier energy company serving the Southeast. With more than 10 years of experience in Information Technology, Ward’s extensive background in technology, regulatory compliance, and risk management assists Southern Company in security practices and infrastructure protection. He has aided in the development of multiple security programs and teams for public and private corporations enabling organizations to manage business risks and infrastructure threats.
Mr. Pyles leads Southern Company’s Smart Grid security strategy and the deployment of solutions with Distribution and Transmission. As a member of the NIST Smart Grid CSCTG and SG Security users groups he has supported the development of the NIST Smart Grid guidelines focusing on threats and privacy. His support of Southern Company’s security practices with regulators and auditors ensures a secure foundation and alignment with standard practices.
Mr. Pyles has obtained multiple industry certifications including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He is an advocate in the community teaching CISSP courses and spreading awareness as an instructor with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. A past officer of the Metro Atlanta ISSA, Ward works closely with state and federal agencies for public security awareness and infrastructure strategy.
Edmond Rogers
Smart Grid Cyber Security Engineer | University of Illinois Information Trust Institute
Before joining the staff, Edmond Rogers was actively involved as an industry participant in many of the research activities at the ITI’s TCIPG program. These activities included NetAPT (Network Access Policy Tool) and LZFuzz (Proprietary Protocol Fuzzing). Prior to the ITI, Edmond was a Security Analyst for Ameren Services a Fortune 500 Investor Owned Utility, and his responsibilities included cyber security and compliance aspects of Ameren's SCADA network. Before the utility, Edmond was a Security Manager and Network Architect for Boston Financial Data Systems (BFDS). BFDS was a transfer agent for 43% of all mutual funds. Edmond began his career founding one of the first Internet Service Providers in Kentucky, Bluegrass.Net. Rogers’ leverages his wealth of experience to assist ITI researchers in creating laboratory conditions that closely reflect real world configurations
William Souza
Manager, Security Integration | PJM Interconnection
William Souza is manager, Security Integration of the Reliability Services Division of PJM Interconnection. Mr. Souza serves as the security principle advisor, working with PJM’s Applied Solutions department in Smart Grid technology implementation at PJM, and he’s actively engaged in the industry, participating in several working groups with NIST and NERC.
Mr. Souza current functions involves, developing strategic, technical and procedural plans to address Smart Grid challenges; the development of processes and controls to address vendor security reviews and he’s also involved in the NERC CIP standard reviews at PJM.
Previously, Mr. Souza served as PJM’s manager - IT Security in the security management department.
My Souza has 15 years of industry experience. Prior to joining PJM, Mr. Souza worked at GridSouth assisting in the development and implementation of the EMS systems.
Jack Whitsitt
INL Industrial Control Systems Computer Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) Liaison | Department of Homeland Security