Vanguard Integrity Professionals today announced that Ron Ross, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and leading expert in information security and risk management, will be a keynote speaker at Vanguard Security & Compliance 2012. Ross's address entitled, "Next Generation Safeguards and Countermeasures: Building Effective Cyber Security Programs for Cloud Computing Environments" will provide attendees with critical information about protecting cloud computing environments from attack. Vanguard Security & Compliance is the world's largest educational forum dedicated to modern information technology security training for System z®.

"We welcome Ron as a keynote speaker at Vanguard Security & Compliance 2012. He is unsurpassed in his expertise in protecting the government information infrastructure from internal and external threats, and in implementing guidelines and standards that improve cyber security," said Steven Ringelberg, chief operating officer at Vanguard. "The cutting edge insights Ron will deliver in his keynote will equip attendees with the latest tools and information they need to protect their cloud computing environments from cyber attack and ensure continuous system monitoring."

Ross leads the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Implementation Project, which includes the development of security standards and guidelines for the federal government, contractors, and the United States critical information infrastructure. He is the principal architect of the Risk Management Framework and multi-tiered approach that provides a disciplined and structured methodology for integrating the suite of FISMA standards and guidelines into a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security program. Ross also leads the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative, a partnership with NIST, the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the Office of the Director National Intelligence, and the Committee on National Security Systems to develop a unified information security framework for the federal government.

In addition to his responsibilities at NIST, Ross supports the U.S. State Department in the international outreach program for information security and critical infrastructure protection. He previously served as the Director of the National Information Assurance Partnership, a joint activity of NIST and the National Security Agency. Ross also served in a variety of leadership and technical positions during his more than twenty-year career in the United States Army. Ross is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Defense Systems Management College, and holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Vanguard Security & Compliance is committed to providing security practitioners with immediate knowledge and hands-on skills to secure their enterprise and mitigate risks using emerging security technologies and techniques. Now in its 26th year, the event has been responsible for providing more than 10,000 System z security practitioners with z/OS® and RACF® security training to ensure the protection of their critical infrastructures. Each year as the security threatscape and regulatory environment evolves, the training advances to address today's toughest security and compliance challenges.

For a complete list of sessions, program tracks or to learn more about Vanguard Security & Compliance 2012, visit www.go2vsc.com