CEO, Security Growth Partners, LLC Biography: Mr. Yoran is CEO of Security Growth Partners, LLC. Security Growth Partners (SGP) advises and develops companies with critical emerging cyber-security technology. SGP works with start-ups as well as large companies on strategies and tactics to become more innovative and bring that innovation to market successfully. Mr. Yoran is a recognized expert on information security market and technology trends. He has diverse experience in the cyber security industry as an executive, entrepreneur, consultant, and investment banker. Mr. Yoran serves on numerous technology, security services and community Boards including; KoolSpan, Inc. (Executive Chairman), the leading provider of security for cell phones and other devices, Vaultive (Executive Chairman) the leading provider of Cloud Security solutions, the Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC) of the FBI, the DHS Advisory Board for Command, Control and Interoperability for Advanced Data Analysis (CCICADA). Previously, Mr. Yoran co-founded and led Riptech, the leading managed security services company. Ernst & Young recognized Mr. Yoran for his success with the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2001. Riptech was acquired by Symantec in the fall of 2002 and Mr. Yoran subsequently served as VP Global Business Development at Symantec. Following Symantec, Yoran served as Executive Chairman of MediaSentry, a pioneering provider of anti-piracy technology and services, until it was acquired by SafeNet in 2005. Mr. Yoran is also a regular speaker at key industry events and has been quoted in media outlets including, AP, Reuters, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has appeared on ABC News, BBC, CNN, and other networks. Mr. Yoran served as an officer in the U.S. Army and is a veteran of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. Mr. Yoran holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS degree with honors from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Abstract: Security: Emerging from the Black Hole of Innovation The Information Security industry has evolved through at least two cycles of innovation in the last 15 years. We experienced a tremendous wave of innovation during the period of the mid-to-late 1990s. Then, from 2000 through 2009, the Information Security industry experienced a black hole of innovation. This experience was caused by multiple reasons including an over emphasis on regulatory compliance. Regulations such as HIPAA, SOX, GLBA forced corporate leadership to spend resources on “security”. However, the true nature of checklist-based spending is that it shifted resources from true security-based decision making. Imagine if you will a world in which all our security entrepreneurs were CPAs, clearly not the most innovative people. Another phenomenon that happened in the last decade was the realization of the original 1990’s era promise of the Internet, but with newer enhanced technology. Social media, mobility, Web 2.0, Cloud, SaaS and other trends are dramatically changing the way governments, businesses and consumers use technology. Information Security is now forced to catch up, and as a result, we are now entering the second great wave of security innovation. We are already seeing the new pioneers beginning to make their mark in critical areas such as mobility security, cloud security and machine-to-machine security, among others. I will go into some of these in greater detail. What are the risks that may slow this wave? The first is the general economic environment. A second is relative scarcity of angel and venture capital. A third, is an ever increasing role of government in the information security market. |