Executive Alliance Publishing House Announces Release of New Book on 'WINNING AS A CISO'

Market Wire, May, 2005

Executive Alliance Publishing House, a division of Executive Alliance, Inc., the premier provider of leadership-recognition forums, announced today that Rich Baich, ChoicePoint's Chief Information Security Officer and winner of the 2004 Information Security Executive of the Year in Georgia Award™, has authored a groundbreaking book, "WINNING AS A CISO: A Guide for Security Executives" (Executive Alliance Publishing House; ISBN: 0-9769173-0-0; $19.95; May 2005).

Information security has dramatically shifted in recent years, and Baich contends that chief information security officers (CISOs), or leaders with an equivalent responsibility in this field, must learn how to deliver value across the enterprise and develop business models that complement an organization's strategy versus being focused solely on technology.

"The role of the CISO carries tremendous accountability for the mitigation of risk and therefore, successful operations of the business," said Baich. "Ultimately, the success of any business depends on a leader's ability to build a team, market and sell the product and run the business; the CISO is not an exception to the rule."

"WINNING AS A CISO" delivers real-life examples of techniques to employ on how an information security executive builds a security organization, markets and sells the value of the organization to win budget dollars, and focuses on running the organization as a business.

"This powerful book is designed to help security and business leaders understand the required transformation taking us from a technical and subject matter expert approach to security to a comprehensive business risk decision-making model," said Michael Assante, Vice President and Chief Security Officer of Risk Management for American Electric Power.

In "WINNING AS A CISO: A Guide for Security Executives," Baich devotes one chapter to each of the eight key stepping stones for effective leadership. Providing an insider's view of how a world-class security organization should be built and managed, each chapter offers new lessons in leadership interwoven with real life experience.

Some of the new lessons discussed in the book are:

    1.  Being a successful Chief Information Security Officer requires the
        right candidate to possess both the unique ability to link
        leadership to business and the practical knowledge of tactical
        information security skills.
    2.  Creating and executing on a marketing campaign to promote a CISO's
        vision is paramount to changing an organization's culture.
    3.  Defining success, measuring success and advertising the "wins"
        ensures the CISO has resources and budget dollars to effectively
        execute.

As Chief Information Security Officer for ChoicePoint, Rich Baich has enterprise-wide responsibility for the architecture, design, risk and implementation of information and technology security. In the information security business for over 10 years, Baich has extensive experience working with government and commercial executives providing risk management and consultative counsel. He has held security leadership positions as the Cryptology Officer for the National Security Agency, and after 9/11 served as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Director for the National Infrastructure Protection Center at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"WINNING AS A CISO: A Guide for Security Executives" is available at www.infosecaward.com.

About Executive Alliance

Executive Alliance is the premier organization for creating leadership-recognition forums that honor and recognize outstanding achievements of executives in different industries. These forums facilitate the building of deep relationships within a network of peers, provide visibility for executives and their companies, and offer access and insight into the people leading these industries. Through an extensive platform of collaborative events, which include Industry Award Events, Summits, Executive Roundtables, Executive Forums, Private Receptions, and Customized Programs, Executive Alliance creates interactive forums for bringing together top executives and innovators in their field.

Media Contact: Shelli Ryan, APR Ad Hoc Communication Resources, LLC (for Executive Alliance) 402-572-6510