| Professionally speaking, I'm a 'serial entrepreneur' with subject matter expertise in information security, data privacy, marketing, and publishing. I have a track record of successful business development in several sectors. My main focus has been maximizing the benefits of
information technology to businesses, governments and communities, through
innovation and the reduction of IT-related fraud and risk. I've been an active participant in
a series of successful startups and I helped create anti-spam technology that was bought by Symantec in 2004 and is now widely deployed in Symantec security appliances.
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These days I work for Monetate, a startup company dedicated to enhancing the Internet for businesses and consumers. |
| My role is "evangelist" which means I use a variety of strategies to increase market awareness and understanding of Monetate's ground-breaking product: software that dramatically improves revenue and ROI for online retail operations by streamlining the process of building and tracking promotional offers individually tailored to customer buying patterns. |
In the last few years I have worked on several different projects. I helped launch School Sports Action TV with my brother, Mike Cobb, as a safe place for kids to share video and photos of their sports activities, like rugby and cricket. Along with Mike and Pete Hayes of Quadrant and Michael Miora of ContingenZ, I did an information security strategy review for one of largest companies in Europe. I also produced an independent documentary by director Jeremy Dean which is now on DVD and NetFlix. And I worked on IMCD, the innovative business backup program developed by Michael Miora and Mike Cobb which should be coming to your local office supply store soon.
Prior to that I served as Chief
Security Executive for a leading
provider of wired and wireless broadband to hotels and conferences that was named as the third fastest-growing technology company in North America on the 2004 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list (iBAHN/STSN).
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Brief Bio: Stephen Cobb is the author of more
than two dozen books, including a complete
guide to PC and LAN security (1992), and a comprehensive
business primer on privacy (2002). So yes, he wrote all of the books in this picture.
A Certified
Information System Security Professional since 1996, Stephen has delivered
security and privacy training to thousands of students from Global 100 companies including AT&T, Microsoft, and Royal Mail. He has advised government agencies, including the FTC, on computer security and privacy issues, and has spoken at more than 50 conferences in more than 10 countries. His writings
on security helped form the original Common Body of Knowledge for
the CISSP. Stephen's business acumen has helped shape the success of several new companies and products, from software to movies. |
Background: I now live near Cooperstown, New York, with my partner, Chey Cobb,
author of Network
Security for Dummies and a former Technical Security Officer
for the National Reconnaissance Office, one of America's most secretive
intelligence agencies. Chey and I worked together to create much
of the curriculum for the Master of Science in Information Assurance
program at Norwich
University, Vermont, an NSA-designated Center of Excellence in Information
Assurance Education. I am an Adjunct Professor of Information
Assurance at Norwich and I recently created a graduate course on Business Continuity Management in partnership with noted incident management expert, Michael Miora.
From 1995 to 1997, I served as Director of Special
Projects for the National Computer Security Association where I was
involved in advancing the testing and certification of anti-virus and
firewall products (NCSA later became ICSA
Labs and TruSecure). While
at NCSA, I played a key role in the widespread adoption and advancement
of firewall technology, producing the widely-distributed NCSA
Firewall Policy Guide and the NCSA Firewall Buyer's Guide.
In 1997, I co-founded InfoSec Labs, an information
security consultancy, with Michael Miora, David Brussin, and Vincent Schiavone. InfoSec Labs was acquired in 1999 by Rainbow Technologies (now
Safenet).
In 2001, I co-founded ePrivacy Group where I helped develop ground-breaking
email technology such as Trusted Sender and SpamSquelcher, the world's first anti-spam router (which later became the TurnTide
Anti-spam Router acquired by Symantec and incorporated into its email security appliances). I was also lead author of the widely read Trusted
Email Open Standard white paper, which was downloaded over
20,000 times in its first few months of publication.
I'm a semi-regular contributor to industry publications and often speak at or chair conferences
around the world. I've been interviewed and quoted by print and
broadcast media in the US, the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Malaysia, Australia,
and Hong Kong, including the Wall Street Journal and BBC News.
Career
Details:
See my profile on LinkedIn. 
Education:
McMaster
University, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Hamilton, Ontario.
University of Leeds,
U.K. BA Honours, First.
King Henry VIII School, Coventry, U.K. School prize in English.
Conferences
and Papers:
- Need to add dates from 2004 through 2007.
- Third
Annual Privacy and Data Security Summit, Washington, DC, February
26-28, 2003
-
Track Chair: Security Track
- Preconference
Session: Security
for Privacy Professionals (with Chey Cobb and Chris Apgar,
CPO Providence Health Plan)
- Conference
Session: The Impact of Emerging Security Standards on Compliance,
Litigation, and Privacy (with Joseph Alhadeff, CPO, Oracle)
- IAPO
Privacy & Security Academy & Expo, October 16-18, 2002
- Track
Chair: Security Track
- Security
2002, Immigration and Naturalization Annual Security Conference, July
9, 2002, New Orleans, Presentation: Privacy Versus Security
- Federal
Trade Commission Consumer
Information Security Workshop, May 20 - 21, 2002, panelist and
paper: What
Business Models Help Consumers Maintain Security?
- HIPAA
Summit IV, Washington, DC, April 24, 2002, Seminar Leader: Basic
Privacy and HIPAA Compliance Training for Privacy and Security Officers--A
Preconference Symposium Sponsored by the International Association
of Privacy Officers
- Medical
Research Summit, Washington, DC, Seminar Leader: Privacy
and Security in Medical Research
- HIPPA
Summit West, San Francisco, Seminar Leader: Basic
Training for Healthcare Privacy and Security Officers
- Second
Annual Privacy and Data Security Summit,
Washington, DC, January
30 - February 1, 2002, Faculty: Preconference Symposium I: Privacy
Officer Training
- e-Learning
- Investing in the Digital Workforce: An e-Gov Conference, Washington,
D.C., December 18-19, 2001, Presentation: Private Sector e-Learning
Experience: Profit From It.
- Cyber
Banking and Cyber Security Conference, Singapore, April 25-26, 2001,
Singapore, Chairperson
- Healthcare
Informatics & e.md Conference: McGraw-Hill, Chicago, April 18-19,
2001, Presentation: Securing Medical Web Sites
- Employers'
Summit on Health Care, March 21-22, 2001, Crystal City Marriott Hotel,
Arlington. VA, Presentation: HIPAA Security Implications
- Anti-Money
Laundering Conference, New York, January 2001, Presentation: Information
Technology Approaches to Combating Money Laundering
- Cyber-Sabotage
Conference, Alexandria, Virginia, November, 2000, Presentation: Security
Through Strong Authentication [review
speaker evaluations]
- IT/Cyber
Security, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, November, 2000, Conference Chair,
Presentations: Strong Authentication - Tokens & Biometrics; PKI
Technologies &
- Digital
Certificates
- Asia
Pacific Conference on Internet Payment Systems, September, Singapore,
2000, Conference Chair, Presentation: Internet Security Doubts and
Fears
- Software
Council of Southern California, Orange County Chapter, October, 1999,
Presentation: Information Security, the Human Element
- Internet
Commerce Payment Systems, The Asia Business Forum, Singapore, June,
1999, Presentation: Multiple Payment Systems in a Secure Environment
- Internet
Commerce Payment Systems, The Asia Business Forum, Singapore, June,
1999, Workshop: Risks Versus Rewards: Assessing & Offsetting Threats
to Your Internet Commerce Payment System
- Internet
Banking Technologies: Strategies for success in the retail banking
market, London, February, 1999, Presentation: Innovations in Internet
Security
- 11th
Hour Y2K Contingency Planning & Strategies, Miami, February, 1999,
Presentation: Security Implications of Y2K
- Information
Security in the Age of the Internet, London, December, 1999, 1-Day
Workshop: Information Security: Threats and Defenses
- Attaining
World Class Process Excellence Through Business Process Outsourcing
for the Financial Services Industry, New York, December, 1998, Seminar:
Outsourcing Internet Security
- Successfully
Creating, Positioning and Acquiring the On-Line Brokerage Company,
New York, November, 1998, Seminar: Information Security and On-line
Stock Trading
- PC
Expo, New York, June, 1998, Seminar: Firewalls 101
- PC
Expo, New York, June, 1998, Seminar: Cryptography 101
- CyberSecurity
@ Asia 98, Hong Kong, June, 1998, 1-Day Workshop: Maximizing Internet
Benefits by Minimizing Internet Risks
- Cyberpayments
@ Asia 98, Hong Kong, June, 1998, Presentation: State of the Art:
Internet Security
- Cyberpayments
@ Europe 98, London, May 1998, State of the Art: Internet Security
- International
Electronic Commerce Conference, New York, May, Gartner Group Seminar:
Cryptography 101
- International
Security Expo, Las Vegas, April, 1998, Seminar: What you don't know
about the Internet can hurt you
- Insurance
Industry and the Internet, New York, December, 1997, Presentation:
Internet Risks
- CyberSecurity
97, Sydney, Australia, July, 1997, Conference Chairperson and Keynote
Speaker: Internet security in the corporate environment: what's in
store for the future
- CyberSecurity
97, Tokyo, Japan, July, 1997, Conference Chairperson and Keynote Speaker:
Internet security in the corporate environment: what's in store for
the future
- CyberSecurity
97, Hong Kong, May, 1997, Conference Chairperson and Keynote Speaker:
Internet security in the corporate environment: what's in store for
the future
- National
Association of Federal Credit Unions Conference, Miami, May 1997,
Presentation: Security Risks in Internet Banking
- Network
97 Conference, Copenhagen, April, 1997, Guest speaker: What Firewalls
Do and Don't Do
- Financial
Securities Marketing Seminar, New York, April, 1997, Seminar: Internet
Risks
- Firewalls
West Conference, July, 1996, Presentation: Firewall Policy Guidelines
- Insurance
Industry and the Internet Seminar, New York, June, 1996, Seminar:
Internet Security Risks
- National
institute of Health, February, 1996, Seminar: Security Risks of Internet
Commerce
- Internet
Technology Conference, Hong Kong, January, 1996, Seminar: Security
Implications of Internet Commerce
- Firewalls
and Internet Security Conference, January, 1996: Introduction to Firewall
Security Policies
Articles
Published:
(1996 to present, for pre-1996, see this
page)
- Need to add articles from 2000 through 2007.
- NETWORK
WORLD - March, 1996, Review: Encryption for the Enterprise
- NETWORK
WORLD - July 1997, The Need for Encryption
- JOURNAL
of the Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre - January, 1996, Standards
& Security in Internet Commerce
- EDI
JOURNAL - July, 1996, Building Trust and Security for Commerce on
the Web
- DIGITAL
NEWS & REVIEW - July, 1997, Trends in Internet Security
- BYTE
- October 1995, Internet Firewalls
- BYTE
- April 1998, Smartcard Invasion Continues
- BYTE
- June 1998, How To Maximize NT Security, with David Brussin
- INFORMATION
SECURITY MAGAZINE - May, 1998, Denial of Service Attacks, with Chey
Cobb
- INFORMATION
SECURITY MAGAZINE - September 1998, Incident Response, with Michael
Miora
- INFORMATION
SECURITY MAGAZINE - July 1997, Anti-Virus Strategies
- INTERNETWORK
- January, 1997, Security Column: Outlook for 1997
- INTERNETWORK
- April, 1996, Security Column: Security Issues with Caches
- INTERNETWORK
- July, 1996, Security Column: Security Staff Shortages
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - July 1997, Faster, More Secure Internet
Access
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - August 1997, Knowing the Enemy, Security
Tips to assessing threats to your security
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - January 1998, Practical Ciphers
- INTERNET
SECURITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - February 1997, Not the Kind of Hit
You Were Looking for, Defending you web sites against Internet vandals
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - November 1997, Safe Internet Access,:
Security solutions for small office and remote users
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - March 1997, Will the PC Client Stall
Data Delivery on the Web?
- DATABASE
SECURITY & INTEGRITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - April 1997, Secure
Your Online Data Projects
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - March 1998, We Have the Technology! The problem
is cost, complexity, and corporate mentality -- It would also help
to have more security professionals
- DATABASE
SECURITY & INTEGRITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - May 1997, Data Security
for Mobile and Remote Computing
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - December 1997, Secure Predictions for
1998
- DATA
SECURITY & INTEGRITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - January 1997, How
Safe is the Internet?
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - April 1997, Java Security Jump-start
- DATABASED
WEB ADVISOR TIPS - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - October 1997, How to Secure
Windows NT
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - October 1997, Beyond Passwords, Passwords
just aren't enough to secure your systems
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - September 1999, Extensions and improvements in
the X.509v3 certificate format
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - November 1997, The Need for Trust and
Other Security Theories
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - January 2000, How Much Security Is Enough?
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - November 1999, Transport Layer Security provides
the client-side authentication lacking in SSL
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - March 1999, Will the next version of IP (IPv6)
make the Net safer?
- DATABASE
SECURITY & INTEGRITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - June 1997, Secure
Your Server, Database servers need to be protected physically and
configured securely
- SECURITY
ADVISOR - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - September 1997, 10 Tips for Securing
Windows NT
- DATABASE
SECURITY & INTEGRITY - E-BUSINESS ADVISOR - March 1997, Smart
Cards: Are We Ready?
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - March 2000, Today's Security Drivers
- INTERNET
SECURITY ADVISOR - August 2000, Improve Security with Stronger Authentication,
with David Brussin
- HP
CHRONICLE -August 2000, Wireless Security
- HP
CHRONICLE - October, 2000, Access Control Evolves to Enable eCommerce,
with Bernie Cowens
- SUN
SERVER - January, 2001, Something in the Air: Wireless Security
- DIGITRENDS
- August 2000, Ecommerce: Security, Speed, Privacy: Pick Three?
- COMPAQ
ENTERPRISE, September, 2000, Windows 2000 Security in the Enterprise
- UNISYS
WORLD, September, 2000, Windows 2000 Security in the Enterprise
- BUSINESS
SECURITY ADVISOR - July/August 2001, The Silent Threat of Outbound
Email
Books
Authored:
(published by McGraw-Hill,
unless otherwise noted)
- Privacy for Business: Web Sites and Email (Dreva Hill,
2002)
- Cobb's
Guide to PC and LAN Security (April, 2001)
- The
NCSA Guide to PC and LAN Security (1996)
- Stephen
Cobb's Complete Book of PC and LAN Security (1992)
- Stephen
Cobb User's Handbook for Excel for Windows
- Stephen
Cobb's User's Handbook to 1-2-3 Release 3
- Using
1-2-3 Release 2.2 Ziff-Davis
- Using
Reflex
- Using
Quattro
- Quattro
Power User Guide
- Using
Quattro Pro
- Using
Quattro Pro 2
- Using
Quattro Pro 3
- Using
Quattro Pro 4
- Pocket
Guide to Quattro Pro
- Working
with DisplayWrite (Scott-Foresman)
- Symphony
Made Easy
- Introduction
to Windows (VNU Publications)
- Getting
Started with Windows (VNU Publications)
Books
Co-authored:
- TOPS:
The IBM/Mac Network
- The
Stephen Cobb User's Guide to FileMaker
- Mastering
DisplayWrite (Sybex)
- Hands
on Guide to Quattro Pro 1.0 for Windows
- The
Quattro Pro 5 for Windows Book
- WordPerfect
5.1 for Windows: Complete Reference
- WordPerfect
6 for Windows: Complete Reference
- Maximizing
Performance for 1-2-3 for Windows
Contributing
Author:
- Information
Security Management Handbook, Auerbach, Ed. Krause, Tipton (Chapter
on Microcomputer Security)
- Computer
Security Handbook,
Wiley, March 2002, Ed. Bosworth, Kabay, (Chapters on Penetration Testing and Hardware Elements of Security)
- Computer Security Handbook, Fifth Edition, Wiley, October 2008, Ed. Bosworth, Kabay, (Chapters on Penetration Testing, Anti-virus Technologies, Hardware Elements of Security, Encryption, Spam and Trojan Code)
- Microsoft
IIS Security,
Osborne McGraw-Hill, July 2002, Michael Cobb & Marty Jost (Chapter
on Web Privacy)
Publications
Edited:
Translations:
- 10
books translated into Spanish.
- Other
translations include Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Italian, German, Chinese,
Indonesian
- Total
worldwide sales: one million+
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