Link: http://titssn.net

TITSSN has always been a network of, for and about the community and we have always tried to find ways of working within it to make it the most valuable and successful experience ever for our members. In working with our communities in and outside of IT, we have found similar issues that reflected upon the need for creating a more resourceful and aggregated system that would put people, processes and things together, making it a more seamless integration for all. Our education and awareness training and development initiatives built on these findings so that we would address the issues on a more personal level as a team. The extensive experience and qualifications of the network members in their areas of business provides invaluable impact on what we see, hear, say and how we react to them.

It is for this reason that we are enacting a new initiative to aggregate all these issues, programs and initiatives under one umbrella that I believe will fix these problems, ENGAGED. ENGAGED, ENabling Greater Awareness, Growth and Educational Development, is an initiative that will take our education, awareness, training and development initiatives to a whole new level. Through ENGAGED, we are working with businesses, schools, libraries, churches and other institutions to deliver the needed resources for addressing the IT Security Threats Landscape of today for tomorrow.

As a network of technical professionals, consultants, specialists, VARs and business executives, the ENGAGED initiative will add the much needed collaboration between the organization members and those we serve. One such enhancement will be a bi-weekly Live Meetings via Microsoft’s Live Meeting service to help with the adoption, training and development of its members on new and existing products and solutions in the security space. This will add the needed value of increased training on specialized products and services provided by the network. Our integration of working with the vendors directly will allow the additional benefit of having their high level technical people in the session to help with the understanding of the products and any problems and support we may need. TITSSN believes that it is through the proper training, understanding and knowledge of these products that we will be successful in supporting, deploying and managing them, and so we are adding more value through the use of live meetings.

On Monday April 20th, TITSSN will enhance the ENGAGED initiative by starting an IT Security Training and Development course for the youths in our local schools through their local office in Arverne NY. This course will be geared towards working with the youths of today who are growing up to be our professionals of tomorrow to give them a better look and feel of the space and what to expect from it. We are working with the local schools in the community to select a number of students who will participate in this course and get the needed exposure to today’s IT Security Threats Landscape ~ITSTL~ and how they can be valuable resources in making it better for tomorrow. This training course will not be the end all, be all for them as we plan on helping them throughout their professional development as mentors in the space. The initiative does not want them learning and forgetting and so future involvement on different levels will follow after the course is completed. Certifications will be awarded to each student that completes the course and passes a final hands-on test.

The training and development course will introduce them to the world of IT Security and all the factors that are in and around it. They will have hands-on access to the latest and greatest security hardware and software products ranging from Biometrics, IDS/IPS, UTM “Unified Threat Management” devices, anti-virus, anti-malware, firewalls and general IT products that are available today across the various operating system environments. This is an extension of our Secure Minds Initiative where we are trying to get the integration of IT Security into the school’s curriculum to enhance the preparedness of this needed area of specialty for the future. We need the realization of IT Security as a people problem to be one that resonates across all borders and cultures. We are on the brink of a global network catastrophe if this realization is not understood.

Through ENGAGED, we have negotiated special vendor pricing and offers to help get the needed security products and solutions out to the general public. As this have been a major issue for many, we are always working on ways in which to bring the networks power to use in negotiating special programs, offerings and incentives from the vendors for our initiatives. A part of our Secure Minds Initiative is to provide security products and solutions to the schools and this will help to make that more readily available through special programs we are hosting there. We are reaching out to our local government resources to funds this initiative through grants and other financial resources in an effort to minimize the costs and offer the products freely when and where we can.

To the business community, ENGAGED provides the needed sales, support and training and development to better prepare you, your company and employees to deal with the issues of the IT Security Threats Landscape. Leveraging our network and resources will be beneficial for you as we provide in-house training and development workshops to further build on this. As your local technology/security professionals, you can reach out to the network to find a resource in your area that can and will work with you. We have customized solutions that will work for you and your company no matter the size or location, if we’re needed we’ll make it there.

With so many resources now being forced online even from the government levels, using the internet and its resource is now a mandatory issues as local offices and resources are being cut as this new online presence becomes more useful. That being said, the use of the internet and its resources has increased significantly over the past year as social networking and other social media have played a key role in this new age of collaboration and networking. The future belongs to networkers and if you’re not a part of the new trend one tends to feel left out when asked if they are on a popular network like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

The present economic crisis adds a dire need for this engagement as more people are using the internet resources for job hunting and finding new homes to live. This is just the start of a change that will never go back to what it used to be, the internet is here to stay and is more than what it used to be 2 years ago.

TITSSN activates the ENGAGED initiative on April 1st 2009 with a series of kick off events for the month. On April 9th at TITSSN’s monthly meeting at the Microsoft Briefing Center in NYC, president/chairman/security attaché Mr. Brett A. Scudder will officially present the initiative to the organization and outlining a few additional aspects of it and how it will be executed. He will also cover the members ENGAGED aspects as well. Registration is open and available here http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=137146

On Monday April 13th from 3-5pm, TITSSN will host a local reception at our office at 331 Beach 70th St, Arverne, NY, 11692 to highlight some of the technologies that will be a part of the initiative. This is a RSVP/registration event. Interested persons are asked to register here http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=137140.

The first ENGAGED members Live Meeting session will be on Wednesday April 22nd from 7-9pm and the info will be sent to active members.

As food and refreshments will be provided at our local meetings and events and we need to ensure that we have enough to cover our guests so registration for these events is a must.

Thank you very much and have a great day.

TITSSN ~The IT Security Suite Network~
We are Security - your Security - our Security - IT Security. Our Security is Safe and Secure.

Link: http://titssn.net

Good day to you,

TITSSN is very pleased with our new president’s focus on the national cyber infrastructure as it had been one of our most intimate concerns during him campaign. Our motto over the years has been that the problems being faced in the IT Security space was not an industry one, but a people one and as such warrants the need for a more global concerted effort towards its education and awareness initiatives. The impacts and effects of the IT Security Threats Landscape reverberates through ever layer of our lives at home, school and work and as such is more than just a simple issue at hand. Yet, unchecked, these issues are not getting the time and attention needed to be seen as serious as they really are today for tomorrow.

The infrastructure of our country relies heavily on a strong technology backbone and unless the proper security education and awareness is provided at all levels, our points of vulnerabilities and exploitation increases with every new device, gadget or piece of technology that is added to it. It is for this reason that over the past few years, we have risen to the challenges of promoting the education and awareness values of IT Security and why it is imperative that people understand the real impact and effects it has on us as a people. This isn’t an issue that is for us as individuals, it is about how we as individuals creates an impact that affects others through the use of messaging (email, IM and text), browsing, file sharing, peer-2-peer networks and general PC etiquette.

I am as much a risk to you as you are to me and thus the global infrastructure is at risk unless we cultivate this mindset of security consciousness. This new era of warfare is a technological one that allows an individual to sit at a PC and launch massive targeted attacks against people, processes, critical infrastructure, governments and countries, without even knowing who you are nor do they care of the intended impact. The need to create hysteria and massive downtime effects drives them to do this without any regard for those who suffers the effects. This is where we are today and is why we need to do this sooner than later.

This is the reason why we kicked off our Secure Minds Initiative to create an educated/aware resilient global network of IT Security Minded people who can secure and protect themselves from IT/Internet threats. We want this administration to realize the need for integrating IT Security into the lower school systems so that our youths can better be prepared for the technology age ahead before they reach high school and college levels. Educating their young minds will help to strengthen the weakest links and bind the chains of the infrastructure much more secure. Parents should also play their part and not leave this up to the school systems to foster this needed education and awareness of basic internet/technology best practices.

As internet broadband services become more mainstream to the average user and the connection speeds increases, the effects of the IT Security Threats Landscape bears heavily on those who are not properly secured and protected either through the protective solutions or just the educational awareness of how to be more secure. The increase in use of instant messaging, social networking and email adds an immeasurable list of ways in which we are at risk. Our future is very strong with the presence of technology at the heart of it and no matter how much we invest in it, the needed for better education and awareness will circumvent whatever is put in place because the human element plays such a significant role in these issues.

We will continue to provide the public outreach and educational programs needed to facilitate the enhancement of this needed resource for our people across the board. Our community outreach programs add the needed one on one communications and access to our IT/Security professionals who are able to talk with community members about these issues and are there as a local go to resource. We are integrating these educational resources into social networks and services to enhance the safe, secure and collaborative resources they provide. We don’t have to fear technology, we just need to secure it by having the proper education and awareness backed by the needed useful solutions.

As in anything we do at this level, there are those who talk about these issues and then there are those who listen and decide on what next steps to take. Here at TITSSN we cover the entire process of listening, research and development, training and awareness and providing local hands on resources to people, processes and things to complement the circle of competence and confidence. Delivering the message of IT Security doesn’t take high levels of technical skills or levels of specialty in the space, it takes the simple understanding of why this is an important part of our world today and why we need to take an active part in being stronger links in the chain of our infrastructure.

Applying the configurations and settings does require that you be aware of what is needed, how to do it and what the effects will be. This does require some level of technical understanding as the impacts of not configuring it properly can lead to bigger problems. And so the process of this initiative is a staged one, one that begins with creating the resources for providing the education and awareness, the other for promoting those resources and then delivering them effectively. As we look forward to this new era of change(s), one tends to feel a sense of wow, what is going on, are we ready for this and if not, do I have a choice. It is not a question of if, but when, and it is that when we must prepare for.

TITSSN is that leading force providing the pathway of resources, education, awareness, services and deliverables to compliment this new era of technology and its focus. We look forward to bringing this whole process together for those who are looking to be more aware of how to protect their privacy, intellectual property and identity on and offline. There isn’t a line between both as they are very much intertwined, it is the knowledge of how and why that create a blur in the mindset to think that the online and offline worlds are truly separate. We must get past this level of thinking and move forward with the mindset of convergence as we brace ourselves for these upcoming changes.

We welcome this new administrations focus on these issues and looks forward to working with them towards a more converged and resourceful technology experience. We are here and will answer the call if and when needed, to take these initiatives to the next level.

Thank you and have a great day,

~Brett A. Scudder~
President/Chairman/IT Security Attaché
~TITSSN~