Vanguard Announces Computer Security Guru Identifies Hole In National Security Policy; Computer Security Pioneer Ronn H. Bailey Advises White House on Potential Security Issues

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2002

Business Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2002

According to Vanguard Integrity Professionals-Nevada, following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. last year, no issue has been on the minds of the American public more than national security and homeland defense.

All aspects of national security have come under incredible scrutiny in the months post 9/11, and cyberspace and the Internet are no exception. In October of last year, President Bush created The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board by Executive Order 12321 and noted, "The information technology revolution has changed the way business is transacted, government operates, and national defense is conducted. Those three functions now depend on an interdependent network of critical information infrastructures." In order to protect these vital systems, the President called for "a public-private partnership, involving corporate and non-governmental organizations," and called for a National Strategy to protect cyberspace.

Computer security expert Ronn H. Bailey, CEO/CTO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, a Nevada-based information security software company, heard the Presidents call and answered. At the Vanguard Enterprise Security Expo(TM) in June, one of the Keynote Speakers was Howard A. Schmidt, Vice Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. Mr. Bailey arranged a private meeting with Mr. Schmidt and expressed his apprehension over mainframe security issues.

"My concern is based on my observation that most discussions on the protection of cyberspace, as it pertains to the protection of our Critical Information Infrastructure, are focused on PCs, network servers, network devices, the Internet and even pervasive computing devices such as Palm pilots and cell phones -- to the exclusion of the mainframe. This omission poses a serious threat to our nation's security," said Bailey.

"It is generally thought that mainframes are just old legacy systems that are being aggressively replaced by other platforms, such as Unix(R) and Windows NT(R) servers. However, that is simply not true. The power, speed, capacity and performance to handle the millions of transactions required within our Critical Infrastructure exist only on mainframes. In fact, mainframes are at the very core of most of the businesses and government agencies in this country. The vast majority of this nation's Critical Information Infrastructure resides on and is processed by mainframes. And, in general, these systems are less secure than they were just seven to ten years ago."

As a result of Mr. Bailey's meetings with Mr. Schmidt in June, on August 22 of this year, Mr. Bailey was invited to the White House to meet with Richard A. Clarke, Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and share his concerns with him. As a result of these meetings, new policies pertaining to mainframe computers were introduced into the "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," which was released on September 18. "It simply makes sense that if information security is an important element of protecting homeland security that the first place to start is where 85% of all mission-critical information is stored, the mainframe," continued Bailey.

Securing the Critical Infrastructure

As a direct result of Mr. Bailey's presentation to the White House, Vanguard released today an Executive White Paper designed to educate private business and government agencies on the significance of the mainframe to our nation's critical infrastructure and highlight the serious decline of mainframe security practices today. To download a free copy of "Securing The Critical Infrastructure" white paper, please go to www.go2vanguard.com.

About Ronn H. Bailey

Ronn Bailey is founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Vanguard Integrity Professionals-Nevada. He has been a leader in information security technology for over three decades, and has worked closely with governmental agencies and the world's Fortune(TM) 1000 companies to identify, clarify, and resolve continually evolving issues related to computer system security, controls, audits and privacy. He is an inventor and holds several security related patents. For more information on Mr. Bailey or Vanguard Integrity Professionals please go to http://www.go2vanguard.com.

About Vanguard

Founded in 1986, Vanguard Integrity Professionals-Nevada is a worldwide provider of information security solutions for critical infrastructure computing. The company develops and markets products for the IBM Security Server and open system environments. It offers a comprehensive range of software products, consulting services, training and conferences.

Vanguard is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and maintains R&D centers in California and Canada, as well as a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Details on Vanguard's solutions are available by calling 702/794-0014, or visiting the Vanguard Web site at http://www.go2vanguard.com.