General Announcement - TITSSN's National Network Expansion Update and Project for 2010

Link: http://titssn.net

Good day to you,

Over the past 3yrs, The IT Security Suite Network, TITSSN (a network of IT consultants/professionals, vendors, developers, law enforcement, advisors and business executives), has been working its way into the public’s view with a mission critical focus on IT Security education, awareness and guidance. For too long the issues of IT Security has been left to the corporate/enterprise and government levels with little understanding that these issues trickles down through every layer of society. Over the past 12 months the drastic increase in data loss and identity theft has hit the general population with an awe as if it was all new, it’s not. While many didn’t understand that it is the same consumer that goes into the work environment and becomes a part of the network is also the same user that is at risk outside of the network as they go home and have access to the general internet as well and corporate infrastructure. A consumer accessing the corporate network from an infected system presents the threat to the entire network as they are on the production network.

Even if you’re a consumer not working for or in an enterprise, your private data/information may reside on a system in those organizations that if compromised put us all at risk. The ways in which our private information is embedded into our economy and the various layers puts us at risk in many ways and it is for this reason that TITSSN has always delivered the message of, do not worry about losing the information but worry about if/when lost, how is it being used, by whom and if it is, how will you know.

These issues affecting the general public is nothing new and has been going on for many years but now that a financial impact is being seen and felt, it now rings a different bell. The protection of infrastructure is not one that pertains only to technology but also the people, processes and ways in which the people use the technology and by the processes that are associated with them. IT Security is a people problem and contrary to popular beliefs, it sinks very deeply into every facet of our society. The use of social security numbers as a means of authentication and validation creates many areas or vulnerability and are exploitable from anywhere at any time.

So these are some of the questions that are normally presented and are what we find very problematic today which we help people to understand and mitigate.

Is your wireless network being used by someone else for nefarious things, is it secured?
Do you know if and when to use or give out your social security number, do you know the laws surrounding the disclosure and use?
Are you putting personal/private information on unsecured systems that may have been compromised or are being controlled by a botnet/botmaster?
Are you aware of the solutions that are available to protect you, your business, your family and friends from these nefarious threats?
Are you aware of the legal implications surrounding the theft of data and the use of cyber terrorism to attack or compromise an organization or entity?
Are you protected from the threats of today by being more elevated and aware of what the real threats are and how they proliferate?
Is the data being so protected in the business being given to a local medical offices that does not have the needed security to protect the data on their systems?
Are medical offices secure enough for your personal/private information and do they need it?
Are your mobile devices secured to protect the data and information that resides on them?
Are you forwarding business messages to personal accounts and exposing business critical information to an unsecure providers network?

It doesn’t take a highly skilled, educated nor technical person to know, use and/or be aware of these things.

It was as a result of these things that The IT Security Suite Network was formed to take away the myths and popular beliefs that place IT Security and its issues in the corporate and government spaces. Our infrastructure is overseen and governed by our government agencies but it is also up to us as a people to maintain the proper use of our internet connectivity and what is used. In an era where a home is more connected than an office and the access to the internet is on a connection that rivals that of many business, the consumers are constant victims of the nefarious use of their systems to launch unethical and serious damage to our infrastructure as a whole. While they don’t understand this until some authority shows up in the home or office and takes them and the systems away for further questioning and testing, the message is of utter disregard as they don’t see themselves being affected by it because they are not aware of it nor the nature of it. The message is clear and can now be seen in local and national media, IT Security is a serious affair and one that requires vigilance, education and awareness of/and about it.

More and more devices are coming with internet connectivity and storage thus expanding the ability for the hackers and malicious codes to spread and evade us simply by misunderstanding what the threats are and how they work. Proliferation comes in the form of any connection to the internet, whether you’re looking for it or not, these threats are out there looking for you and you will be compromised if not secured and protected. Wired and wireless devices are all affected the same.

TITSSN views on these issues have led to a number of programs and initiatives from our network. Our IT Security integration into our communities and educational institutions has led to the development of scholarship programs geared towards promoting the need for more qualified, skilled and motivated security professionals to stand up to the challenge and effectively secure any infrastructure that is given to them. Our scholarship program provides the financial and resources assistance needed to get the continued training and development as the IT Security Threats Landscape changes. As the threats change, so will the professionals learning and adaption to the changes in order to maintain the security and integrity of the infrastructure. We strongly believe in the integration of an IT Security specific focus at the educational level and with this has began working with local institutions in areas where we have local presence.

Starting from the 8th grade, IT Security courses and education is now being added to the curriculum fostering awareness of the issues and a vision of choosing to be a specialist in this area after leaving high school. Through our well integrated and resourceful network, we are able to offer specialized/customized training and development programs that culminates into an examination and certification accreditation. We have seen the need for a broader range of security focused certifications and as such have worked with our training vendors to facilitate this need. Our vision is to help fill the gap of highly qualified and skilled professionals becoming available for the workforce after graduating high school. We have been working with a number of institutions on this integration. One such institution is the Northside High School’s 21st Century Academy in Jacksonville North Carolina that is taking full advantage of this program. Our integration and working with these institutions provides exposure to a variety of security products, solutions, training and awareness to keep the students up-to-date and current on the happenings of today for tomorrow.

In 2008 we created the Recruiter’s Suite by choosing 4 key national recruiting firms to help address the employment issues of the professionals who reach out to us for jobs as well as the availability of jobs from the recruiters. Over the past 18 months of working with them we saw the need to aggregate this resource and make it more integrated for us across the board. And so in a win, win situation, we are able to train IT professionals and provide job placements for them all within the network. Thanks to their sharing of the vision they were willing to work with us in accomplishing this and for that we are truly happy.

Our community outreach programs are geared towards being local channels for IT Security guidance, awareness, education and services in our communities. Members of TITSSN participate in our community outreach program which identifies them as such with a mission of availability and resources (if and when needed), they can and will be a focal point of guidance for all.

In 2007 we made an ambitious attempt at calling on the national public to observe a week of IT Security awareness and education. This was as a result of the success of our annual security summit of 2005 which showed us the need and the fact that we could do this is we unified towards a great cause. This week of activities across the country was focused on delivering the message of the impact and effects of The IT Security Threats Landscape on us a nation and how critical it is. This annual initiative is one that we hope will be absorbed into our national infrastructures schedules and initiatives to grow into a mainstream event that culminates into The National IT Security Public Awareness Program Summit. The summit will bring everyone together at the end of the week for a general wrap up event looking at the event and the year ahead. We must get past the decadent beliefs that are surrounding this critical issue and get a general focus on it from all levels immediately. We’ve seen and felt the loss of revenue and personal values as the loss of data exposes millions on one incident with a lifetime impact on an individual’s status. IT Security is a people problem, not one of industry and we must address it accordingly as everyone is at risk.

It is this knowledge and vision that has led our national focus on establishing user group communities across the country with a specific focus on IT Security since inception. We started as a small chapter in NYC and have now grown with an international visibility that has us offering awareness, education, training and services to all. By providing an integration between security vendors (hardware and software), developers, IT professionals and the general population across all OS levels (Microsoft and open source), we have successfully fostered the levels of awareness and education of the IT Security Threats Landscape across the board today. This has worked out very well for us and now we’re taking another ambitious attempt of establishing local chapters in every major city in the US by 2010. We believe that by working with other organizations and groups, we can achieve this goal thus enhancing the ability to secure and protect more infrastructures with a vision of a more secure and stable technology ecosystem in our country.

We have set this goal based on the vision of what we’re seeing in the technology space and when it will hit the mainstream public across all sectors. In 2010, the levels of convergence will be of such that internet connectivity will be like a multicellular organism that keeps mutating into every and anything that comes in contact with it. As soon as a new piece of technology with some form of connectivity becomes available, there is an exploit or vulnerability for it. Security was always an after the fact and now that we have gotten so structured in the way things are written and developed, they are unsecure coming out of production. With the rapid growth in mobile connectivity and a vast array of devices and gadgets, the mobility outreach of the threats will even be greater. With general appliances and the automotive industry gaining more traction in these areas of connectivity, we’re getting way over our heads in dealing with these threats unless we can converge on the training, awareness and education about them. We will be the counter effect multicellular network providing the protection against these threats as they develop.

So it is with this that we, TITSSN, call on the nation as a people to join us in our initiatives to help foster the education and awareness around these issues at all levels. We welcome educational institutions to join us in integrating an IT Security focus courses into your curriculums. We will be more than happy to assist you in creating these programs and facilitating the training and development needed for them. We are in need of venues to host our meetings and events and to bring the wealth of knowledge and resources our network brings.

We are proud to announce the start of two new chapters of the network in Pennsylvania and Denver Colorado in April and May 2008. We are very grateful to Mr. Travis Howe in Denver Colorado and Mr. Harold Stonebraker in Malvern Pennsylvania who have seen and shared in our vision and decided to take on this responsibility to be leaders in these areas. We rely very much on the local chapter leads to continue building on the initiatives and taking the IT Security initiatives to the next level and with the full support of the network and our resources will enhance the security initiatives in their areas. We ran into a little snag with the New Jersey chapter and is working it out and will have an update and launch soon. More information on these new chapters will be on our websites.

Thank you for all your support and have a great day. We apprecilove your business and support.

~Brett A. Scudder~
President/Chairman/Founder/Security Architect
The IT Security Suite Network ~TITSSN~
Brett.Scudder@titssn.net | http://titssn.net |(877) 539-8614 / (718) 928-6516
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