For a direct link to our data privacy and computer security resources, click here.

For disaster recovery planning and consulting, see Contingenz.

For data privacy advice in Europe, and some helpful articles, check out brother Mike's site.

For recent security thinking, check out these white papers at ISS.

For a basic reading list on information security, check this one on Amazon.

For a reading list on privacy, try my colleague Ray's list on Amazon.

For a computer security classic, try Cobb's Guide to PC & LAN Security (May 2001 reprint).

That's a quote from Stephen Cobb...but do we need to be quite so gloomy? Information technology continues to improve the quality of life for millions of people, and IT continues to deliver productivity increases in many countries. There is plenty of scope for optimism, but the fact remains that every technology is a two-edged sword. The dark side of information technology threatens to deprive people of their privacy, and unless we get computer security just right, our reliance upon computers could undermine national security.

So where do we start? We think the best place to start is at home. That's why we are putting data privacy and computer security resources on our web site. We think this will help you manage the privacy of your personal information and the security of your personal computer(s). Who are we to offer such advice? Hopefully, the rest of this page will explain.

Chey Cobb is a computer security expert with many years of experience, in both public and private sectors. She is a Certified Information System Security Professional and holds some of the highest U.S. government security clearances. She has spoken at many security conferences and authored two chapters of the recent published Computer Security Handbook, 4th Edition (described by one reviewer as a "must have" for InfoSec newbies and professionals). Chey has co-authored several other books and written numerous articles, many of them intended to explain computer security to people who are not computer experts. She is currently writing The Dummies Guide to Network Security.

Stephen Cobb has been helping companies, governments, and individuals to protect and manage their computer-based information for more than 20 years. He has published several hundred articles on software, networking, communications, privacy and security. The author of over 20 computer texts, he recently contributed several chapters to the Computer Security Handbook, 4th Edition. He has chaired, key-noted, and presented at dozens of conferences and symposia around the world. A founding partner of InfoSec Labs, Inc., an information security consulting company that was acquired in 1998 by Rainbow Technologies, he also served for two years as Director of Special Projects for the National Computer Security Association, helping to launch the Firewall Product Developers’ Consortium. In 1996, he edited the NCSA Firewall Policy Guide, which achieved worldwide distribution and aided in the development of Internet commerce and security markets. Stephen is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional who has helped launch several highly successful security companies.

Mike Cobb has an extensive background in high performance database systems. An accomplished software programmer, web site designer, database developer, and writer, Mike has published over a hundred articles on privacy and security, and recently co-authored Microsoft IIS Security (Osborne McGraw-Hill, 2002). As founder of CobWeb Applications he is responsible for the development of security software licensed by several interational companies, and the creation of a number of high volume web sites in both the public and private sector. Mike's web-based tools for financial data analysis, developed in conjunction with Quadrant Consultants, have been deployed by the UK Post Office, regional government offices, and several Fortune 500 companies. Mike is both a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator.