Wireless Interoperability - 1 Year in Review

Panelists:
Dr. David Boyd Director - Command, Control and Interoperability - Science and Technology Directorate, DHS

Kent Holtgrewe - Deputy CIO for Policy and Planning

Paige Atkins - Director, Defense Spectrum Organization - DISA

James Ransome - Ph.D., CISSP, CISM, Senior Director, Secure Unified Wireless and Mobility Solutions Corporate Security Programs and Global Government Solutions, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Moderator

Jim Flyzik -Flyzik Group

Jim served over 27 years in the federal government. He served as Senior Advisor to Governor Ridge in the White House Office of Homeland Security (OHS). He provided advice to OHS on the National Strategy and Information Management in support of the OHS mission. From February 1998 until December 2002, Jim also served as the Vice Chair of the Federal Government CIO Council overseeing numerous governmentwide IT initiatives. He was also a member of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board.

Prior to this, from August 1997 until April 2002, Jim was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Department of the Treasury. He provided oversight, strategic planning and management direction on over $3.0 billion in annual information technology and information infrastructure programs within Treasury and its fourteen Bureaus. Jim also served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Management for the Treasury Department from January 20, 2001 until February 8, 2002. In that role he provided oversight of all Treasury bureaus and served as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on matters involving the internal management of the Department and its bureaus. Jim received the Secretary Certificate of Appreciation on February 12, 2002 for his efforts during this transition period.

Prior to his Treasury positions, Jim worked for 15 years at the U.S. Secret Service where he held key IT management positions, including the Chief of the Communications Division, providing world class telecommunications in support of Secret Service tactical and operational requirements.

Jim has extensive public speaking experience and frequently serves as a featured speaker at industry events. He has developed, and currently teaches part-time, a graduate level course on Information Systems Security and Risk Assessment at the University of Maryland. Jim was given the Stanley J. Drazek Excellence in Teaching Award in 1998 by the University of Maryland.

Jim has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Computer Science and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland with an area of concentration in Information Systems Management.

Dr. Boyd came to Homeland Security from the U.S. Department of Justice, where he had service, since 1992, as the Director of Science and Technology for the National Institute of Justice, the criminal justice research and evaluation agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1997, he was also appointed Deputy Director of the National Institute of Justice itself. He oversaw the operations of the single largest law enforcement and corrections technology development activity in the United States. His office managed research and development programs in every facet of technology affecting law enforcement and corrections, including the forensic sciences, less than lethal technologies, information and communications technologies, concealed weapons and contraband detection, simulation, and others. His office directed the DNA and forensic laboratory improvement programs, which are designed to strengthen DNA identification and general forensic analysis capabilities in state and local crime laboratories. His office also managed the only voluntary standards development and testing organization for law enforcement and corrections in the United States, and was charged by Congress with the development of proficiency tests for DNA laboratories. When Dr. Boyd assumed responsibility for the Office of Science and Technology, it had a staff of four and an annual budget of just over $2 million. When he left, it had an active portfolio of just over $750 million and some 200 Federal and contract employees in more than 18 technology centers across the United States. He also served, at the direction of the Attorney General, on the White House National Science and Technology Council, on the National Security Council Committee on Safety and Security of Public Facilities, and as the Executive Chair of the Justice Department's Technology Policy Council.

Ms. Atkins is responsible for comprehensive and integrated spectrum plans and long-term strategies to transform the Department's legacy spectrum management processes and capabilities to future net-centric operations. She supports the Secretary of Defense on national and international spectrum issues, spectrum coordination, and in the pursuit of emerging spectrum efficient technologies. She is responsible for providing direct support to the ASD (NII)/DoD CIO, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commanders, and DoD components to enable effective and efficient use of the electromagnetic spectrum and control of electromagnetic environmental effects in support of national security and military objectives.

Ms. Atkins graduated in 1984 from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1989, she earned a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Administration from George Washington University.

Ransome is a recognized security practitioner and author. His career is marked by leadership positions in both the private and public industries, having served in three Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and three Chief Security Officer (CSO) roles. Ransome has established a consistent record of technological innovation in physical and cyber security disciplines.

Prior to joining Cisco, he served as Senior Vice President of Commercial Managed and Professional Security Services at SecureInfo Inc., headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Ransome has held various senior executive information systems and physical security management positions, including Vice President of Integrated Security at CH2M HILL, Vice President of Corporate Security at Exodus and at Cable and Wireless, Vice President of Security Operations and Services at Pilot Network Services, Director of Global Information Systems Security for Applied Materials, Director of Information Systems Security for Autodesk, and Director of IT Security, Directory Services and Email at Qwest Communications. While at Exodus Communications and Cable and Wireless, Ransome managed both Internet and physical security for hundreds of thousands of users within the world's largest commercial hosting environment, serving more than 4,500 customers in 42 data centers.

Ransome spent 23 years in government service before entering private industry. This includes ten years as a computer scientist, national security and imagery analyst for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in support of the national intelligence community, DOE NEST Team, DoD, and federal law enforcement.

He was a NCIS Civilian Federal Special Agent (1811) assigned to the Foreign Counterintelligence (FCI) Squad / San Francisco with responsibilities for FCI investigations and operations, regional law enforcement agency liaison officer, special projects OPSEC, counterterrorism support and analysis, as well as protective service details for national and foreign dignitaries.

Ransome is a retired U.S. Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer (O-5, Commander) and a former U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Platoon Sergeant / Intelligence Specialist. He has completed 23 years combined active-duty and reserve service which includes duty in Operation Desert Shield/Storm (field operations), Operation Joint Endeavor (counter-terrorism), and Vietnam-Era service specializing both in weapons systems and intelligence operations. During this time he worked in more than 15 countries with US Navy Task Force 168 and received personal commendations from the Chief of Naval Operations and the Department of Army for his work as the Officer in Charge of a team operating on the border of Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Ransome holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems specializing in Information Security, a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems, and graduate certificates in International Business and International Affairs. He developed and tested a security model, architecture, and best practices for converged wired-wireless network security for his doctoral dissertation.

Ransome is an Adjunct Professor for Nova Southeastern University's Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences (SCIS) Information Security Program, designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the U.S. National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security where he teaches Applied Cryptography, Advanced Network Security, and Information Security Management. He received the 2005 Nova Southeastern University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. He is a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Ransome is the author of several published books, including Wireless Operational Security, VoIP Security, Instant Messaging (IM) Security, and Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Guide for Information Security Managers. He also developed the initial wireless, network architecture, SCADA, and VoIP security best practices for the Federal Communications Commission Network Reliability and Interoperability Council Focus Group on Cybersecurity - Homeland Defense.