(ISC)²® Announces 2012 U.S. Government Information Security Leadership Award Finalists

Nominees Show Penchant for Achieving Excellence and Results in their Initiatives to Strengthen Federal Security Posture

Palm Harbor, Florida (PRWEB) September 19, 2012

(ISC)2® (“ISC-squared”), the largest not-for-profit membership body of certified information security professionals and administrators of the CISSP®, today announced the finalists for its 9th annual U.S. Government Information Security Leadership Awards(GISLA®) program.

Sponsored by (ISC)2’s U.S. Government Advisory Board for Cyber Security (GABCS), the GISLA program was established in 2004 to spotlight federal information security leaders who are modeling excellence and achieving clear results as they help to build a more secure federal IT infrastructure and a highly qualified and ethical information security workforce. Awards are given to individuals or teams in five categories.

“The GISLA program provides a unique opportunity to showcase the talent, creativity, and commitment that these information security professionals demonstrate every day to continually improve the security posture of government infrastructure, networks, and data,” said W. Hord Tipton, CISSP-ISSEP, CAP, CISA, executive director of (ISC)2 and former CIO of the U.S. Department of the Interior. “We are proud to be able to recognize these leaders, whether they’re on the front lines or in the executive suite, and give them the high-profile credit they’re due for making a difference in the lives of their colleagues and the American public.”

The 2012 GISLA finalists are as follows:

Category: Community Awareness

•     Nancy Hendricks, CISSP, information systems security specialist, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

Initiative: U.S. FAA Cyber Security Awareness and Training Program

•     Craig McComb, GS-15/deputy CIO, 88th Communications Group, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, U.S. Air Force

Initiative: Wright Patterson AFB Cyber Security Working Group

•     Christopher Douglas, CISSP, branch chief, Information Systems Security Branch, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

Initiative: USDA-FSIS Computer Security Awareness and Training

Category: Federal Contractor
    

•     David Rohret, CEH, Security+, CHFI, ECSA/LPT, CNDA, senior principal systems engineer, CSC

Initiative: Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) Adaptive Red Team at U.S. Department of Defense

•     Michael Worden, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP, CEH, senior principal systems security engineer, Raytheon Company

Initiative: Global Positioning System Operational Control Segment (GPS OCX)

•     Gary Gagnon, senior vice president and deputy general manager of CIIS and chief security officer, Mitre Corporation

Initiative: The Mitre Corporation’s Initiative—“Making Security Measurable”

Category: Process/Policy Improvement

•     Janet Stevens, PMP, chief information officer, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

Initiative: FSIS Information Assurance

•     Major John McLain, CISSP, network operations chief, Directorate of Information Management, U.S. Army Reserve Theater Support Group (USAR TSG), U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC)

Initiative: Department of Defense Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process

•     M. Sgt. Robert Dahl, CISSP, information assurance manager, Special Operations Command Central, U.S. Air Force

Initiative: Significant IA improvements within Special Operations Command Central

Category: Technology Improvement

•     Steven Martin, CISM, information assurance manager, U.S. Air Force

Initiative: Military Satellite Communications Systems HBSS Pilot Integration

•     Vance Middleton, information technology specialist, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Initiative: Security for IRS Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2)

•     Kevin Charest, CISSP, MBA, PMP, CSIRC, cyber security program manager, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)