About UsGR-ISSA is a local chapter of the international Information Systems Security Association (or ISSA). GR-ISSA provides local security professionals and practitioners a variety of information security resources ranging from presentations and knowledge sharing to social networking opportunities. This site is dedicated to the Grand Rapids, Michigan chapter of ISSA. GR-ISSA was founded in 2003. For information about the parent international ISSA organization, you are encouraged to visit www.issa.org. MeetingsMeeting TimeMeetings are held nine months out of the year on the third friday of the month unless stated otherwise. Meetings are suspended during summer months (June through August) in recognition of vacations etc.
Meeting LocationChapter meetings are held at Steelcase Global Headquarters in Grand Rapids Michigan. Steelcase Global Headquarters are located on the northeast corner of 44th street and Eastern avenue. Guest parking is available free of charge, accessible from the 44th street entrance closest to Eastern avenue. Attendees are asked to use the main entrance facing 44th street. Upon entering the lobby a receptionist will greet you, please sign in and take a name tag. Chapter meetings are held downstairs in one of the multipurpose rooms near the cafeteria.
Steelcase Global Headquarters PresentationsJune, July, AugustNo meetings. Friday September 19, 2008 - Application Level FirewallsPresented by Ryan Cummings, Network Manager, Kalamazoo Valley Community College Today, web exploits are just as likely to target zero-day vulnerabilities as well as long known vulnerabilities. Organizations that rely on the cycle of vulnerability disclosure, patch release, testing and patch deployment will always have a high level of exposure to attack. For non-critical systems this approach may be acceptable, but for "mission critical" systems it is not. To ensure that high value assets are protected appropriately, this presentation will describe and discuss the importance of strategically placed application level firewalls as part of a risk-based approach to information security that also improves network efficiency and flow. Friday October 17, 2008 - FBI Insights & OpportunitiesPresented by Special Agent Adam Van Deuren and Special Agent John King, Grand Rapids Office Details forthcoming. Friday November 21, 2008 - Removing Local Admin PrivilegesPresented by Ray Davidson, PhD. - Program Manager, Vigil Inc. In the past, most organizations installed Windows with full administrative privileges for all users. This has created a fertile environment for security exploits, as well as a management nightmare. For those reasons, some organizations are rethinking their past folly, and considering removing administrative privileges from some or all of their users. Like Pandora, they.re finding that it.s no easy task; there are myriad devils and details. Friday December 19, 2008 - Handling the Risks of E-Discovery (FRCP Compliance)Presented by Daniel Estrada, President - D.C. Estrada Information Technology Another compliance acronym? In this presentation, we'll avoid the procedural stuff and take a pragmatic look at e-discovery from an IT perspective. Daniel Estrada will address the basics of e-discovery compliance and the requirements companies face under the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). Friday January 16, 2009 - Botnets - Understanding and CombattingPresented by Tim Crothers, Lead IT Security Specialist for Alticor Bots have become the tool of choice for professional criminals with estimated infections ranging in the millions of PCs. Desktop PCs are being taken over and used for sending spam, hosting phishing sites, and gathering personal information for identity theft and other fraud - all without the user's knowledge. In this presentation you'll get a solid understanding of how bots work by seeing a live demonstration of a desktop PC infected with actual bot code and controlled remotely. Once you've got a firm understanding of how the bots work the presentation will then move into techniques for preventing, detecting, and removing bot infestations. Past PresentationsElectronic presentation material are available with chapter membership through the chapter archives. MembershipGR-ISSA Chapter MembershipTo become a member of the Grand Rapids ISSA chapter we ask that you be a West Michigan information security student or professional. Membership benefits include access to chapter emails advertising coming events and peer commentary on topics of information security. Benefits also include access to email and presentation archives. Chapter membership requires a multi-step process as outlined below.
Chapter members will be added to the chapter mailing list, [gr-issa-discuss@gr-issa.org]. GR-ISSA Chapter DuesGR-ISSA does not require dues. GR-ISSA solicits guest speakers that will donate their time and information. GR-ISSA also solicits local organizations that will donate their conference room facilities for a few hours each month to accommodate our monthly meetings. Combined, these donations of time, information and facilities have allowed GR-ISSA to waive all requirements for monthly or yearly chapter dues. ISSA Membership and FeesInternational ISSA membership requires an annual fee paid by either an individual or an organization as appropriate. Although ISSA membership is not required to attend GR-ISSA chapter meetings, we strongly recommend attendees to consider the benefits of ISSA membership. The international site also offers an online option for joining ISSA at any time. ArchivesThe GR-ISSA archive contains discussion list (gr-issa-discuss and gr-issa-announce) and past presentation material. All archive access begins with chapter membership. Without chapter membership, you will not have access to the archive and its contents. Consult membership for details. Archive and discussion list logon information will be synchronized. If your chapter membership is new or passwords where changed, you must wait 24 hours before the account settings take effect on the archive. Chapter members will have access to the following materials:
ContactThere are a few options available for contacting Grand Rapids ISSA chapter members.
Additionally, some executive board members can be contacted directly.
Last modified: June 19, 2008 |