Chris Ries

Michael Gregg is the President of Superior Solutions, Inc. and has more than 20 years' experience in the IT field. He holds two associate’s degrees, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree and is certified as CISSP, MCSE, MCT, CTT+, A+, N+, Security+, CNA, CCNA, CIW Security Analyst, CCE, CEH, CHFI, CEI, DCNP, ES Dragon IDS, ES Advanced Dragon IDS, and TICSA. Michael's primary duty is to serve as project lead for security assessments, helping businesses and state agencies secure their IT resources and assets. Michael has authored four books, including Inside Network Security Assessment, CISSP Prep Questions, CISSP Exam Cram2, and Certified Ethical Hacker Exam Prep2. He has developed four high-level security classes, including Global Knowledge's Advanced Security Boot Camp, Intense School's Professional Hacking Lab Guide, ASPE's Network Security Essentials, and Assessing Network Vulnerabilities. He has written over 50 articles featured in magazines and Web sites, including Certification Magazine, GoCertify, The El Paso Times, and SearchSecurity. Michael is also a faculty member of Villanova University and creator of Villanova's college-level security classes, including Essentials of IS Security, Mastering IS Security, and Advanced Security Management. He also serves as a site expert for four TechTarget sites, including SearchNetworking, SearchSecurity, SearchMobileNetworking, and SearchSmallBiz. He is a member of the TechTarget Editorial Board. Stephen Watkins (CISSP) is an Information Security Professional with more than 10 years of relevant technology experience, devoting eight of these years to the security field. He currently serves as Information Assurance Analyst at Regent University in southeastern Virginia. Before coming to Regent, he led a team of security professionals, providing in-depth analysis for a global-scale government network. Over the last eight years, he has cultivated his expertise with regard to perimeter security and multilevel security architecture. His Check Point experience dates back to 1998 with FireWall-1 version 3.0b. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University and his M.S. in Computer Science, with Concentration in InfoSec, from James Madison University. George Mays (CISSP, CCNA, A+, Network+, Security+, INet+) is an independent consultant with 35 years' experience in computing, data communications, and network security. He holds a B.S. in Systems Analysis. He is a member of the IEEE, CompTIA, and Internet Society. Chris Ries is a Security Research Engineer for VigilantMinds Inc., a managed security services provider and professional consulting organization based in Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the discovery, exploitation, and remediation of software vulnerabilities, analysis of malicious code, and evaluation of security software. Chris has published a number of advisories and technical white papers based on his research and has contributed to several books on information security. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a Mathematics Minor from Colby College, where he completed research involving automated malicious code detection. Chris has also worked as an analyst at the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance (NCFTA), where he conducted technical research to support law enforcement. Ronald M. Bandes (CISSP, CCNA, MCSE, Security+) is an independent security consultant. Before becoming an independent consultant, he performed security duties for Fortune 100 companies such as JP Morgan, Dun and Bradstreet, and EDS. Ron holds a B.A. in Computer Science. Brandon Franklin (GCIA, MCSA, Security+) is a network administrator with KIT Solutions, Inc. KIT (Knowledge Based Inormation Technology) Solutions, Inc. creates intelligent systems for the health and human services industry that monitor and measure impact and performance outcomes and provide knowledge for improved decision making. A KIT system enables policy makers, government agencies, private foundations, researchers, and field practitioners to implement best practices and science-based programs, demonstrate impacts, and continuously improve outcomes. Brandon formerly served as the Team Lead of Intrusion Analysis at VigilantMinds Inc., a Pittsburgh-based managed security services provider.