November 2010 Meeting

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Security Challenges Faced by Small to Medium Sized Companies

Small to Midsize Businesses have invested time and money to bring their business to life. They buy insurance to protect their business, put locks on the doors and install fire alarms to protect their premises. Have they made computer security the same priority? Organizations must be able to trust their computer security and stability, yet these critical resources are under daily attack. What is at risk?

This briefing will highlight how Internet-based criminal syndicates are targeting small to midsize businesses and executing elaborate schemes that pilfer business financial assets with limited recourse.  We will examine the anatomy of the most prominent contemporary attack and discuss how financial institutions and traditional information security practices fail to prevent the attack, leaving business owners on their own.  We’ll wrap up with an open discussion to examine ways businesses can mitigate the attacks.

Michael A Figueroa, SVP –  InfusionPoints

As a Senior Vice President at InfusionPoints, Michael A Figueroa focuses on providing executive-level security program assistance to organizations of all sizes, across government and commercial industries.  By leveraging a broad set of professional experiences across IT and information security disciplines derived from over 15 years of industry experience, Michael previously served as a CIO/CISO for a medium-sized financial services marketing firm and as a program manager in consulting teams at Booz Allen Hamilton.  His experience includes managing security integration activities across large government organizations, providing subject matter expertise to European government public policy initiatives, and developing enterprise-wide information security program and enterprise security architectures.  With an industry background that includes financial services, automotive, education, and federal government, he assists organizations in navigating the complex IT security environments of the present.

Michael Figueroa holds a Bachelors degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a Masters of Forensic Sciences degree in High Tech Crime Investigations from The George Washington University.  He has also served as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Sciences at The George Washington University and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Virginia.

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