Grand Rapids ISSA Chapter

About Us

GR-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.

Meetings

Meeting Time

Meetings 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.

Social Networking 2:30 - 3:00 PM EST

Presentation 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST

Open Discussion 4:30 - 5:00 PM EST

Meeting Location

Chapter 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
901 44th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Presentations

Friday May 21, 2010 - "Why Do Security Professionals Fail?"

Presented by Dan Lohrmann, Michigan CTO

Why do security professionals fail? As a CTO, a former NSA employee and an award-winning CISO, Lohrmann has been studying this question for about twenty-five years. He's observed those who succeed and those who seem to fail to achieve their goals. This presentation will chronicle the good, the bad and the ugly in our industry. What works and what doesn't seem to make much difference in getting consistently positive information security results for individuals and also for teams?
This presentation, which is based on Lohrmann's critically acclaimed CSO Magazine blog series on the same topic, will cover seven problems that all security professionals face. Equally important, Dan will offer pragmatic solutions that will help you overcome these problems and succeed. With true stories and analogies that will probably surprise, you will be challenged to rethink your role, your approaches, your perspective and your security priorities.
Daniel J. Lohrmann is the Michigan Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Deputy Director of Infrastructure Services Administration within the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (MDTMB). In this role, Dan oversees all aspects of IT infrastructure and enterprise architecture for Michigan State Government agencies. He provides strategic vision and operational oversight for approximately 800 technology professionals in support of over 50,000 state employees.
Prior to becoming Michigan's CTO, Dan Lohrmann was Michigan's first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) from May 2002 until January 2009 within the Michigan Department of Information Technology. In May 2008, Dan was named 'CSO of the Year' for North America by SC Magazine, and he was named a 'Public Official of the Year' by Governing Magazine in their November 2008 issue.
Dan has over 24 years' experience in the computer industry, beginning with the National Security Agency (NSA) in Washington, D.C. He spent seven years in England as both a senior network engineer for Lockheed Martin followed by IT Director for ManTech International on a US/UK military base. In 1997, Dan moved to Michigan where he served as CIO and IT Services Director for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget.
Dan's first book, Virtual Integrity: Faithfully Navigating the Brave New Web, was published in November 2008 by Brazos Press. In April 2006, he was selected as Information Security Executive of the Year (Central USA) by the Executive Alliance. In July 2006, he was selected as a "Government Visionary" by Symantec Corporation. In December 2007, he was named as one of the 'Top 25 Most Influential People in the Security Industry' by Security Magazine.
He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science (CS) from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a Bachelors Degree in CS from Valparaiso University in Indiana. Mr. Lohrmann is a distinguished lecturer for the Masters Program in Information Assurance at Norwich University.

Past Presentations

Electronic presentation material are available with chapter membership through the chapter archives.

Membership

GR-ISSA Chapter Membership

To 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.

Begin the application process by providing a valid email address and choosing a password for your chapter account. You should receive an email seeking confirmation of your email address.
Follow the instructions provided in the confirmation email. Once confirmed, a moderator will contact you via email.
The moderator will ask for additional information about you such as title, organization and contact information. You will also be asked to agree to the chapter terms shown below. Reply to the moderator to continue the application process.

Professionalism: you agree to follow common standards of email etiquette.
Relevance: you agree to only post messages relevant to the interests of GR-ISSA.
Privacy: you agree to not breach the privacy of list participants (e.g. by not revealing names or forwarding content without the owner's permission).
No advertising: you agree to refrain from advertising any product or service.

The moderator will issue a final email either granting or denying your chapter membership.

Chapter members will be added to the chapter mailing list, [gr-issa-discuss@gr-issa.org].

GR-ISSA Chapter Dues

GR-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 Fees

International 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.

Contact

There are a few options available for contacting Grand Rapids ISSA chapter members.

[gr-issa-discuss at gr-issa dot org], entire chapter member base.
[gr-issa at gr-issa dot org], prominent chapter members and the chapter executive board.
[gr-issa-exec at gr-issa dot org], chapter executive board.

Additionally, some executive board members can be contacted directly.

President Paul Melson

Vice President Zach Jansen

Membership Director Lloyd Guyot [lloyd dot guyot at spectrum-health dot org]

Treasurer Doug Rehfeldt

Secretary Rich Worth

Last modified: September 17, 2008