Bill Spernow
Chief Information Security Officer
Georgia Student Finance Commission

Mr. Spernow is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Georgia Student Finance Commission. He has been tasked with making this State agency into the most secure in Georgia. The likelihood he will succeed is a function of an extensive Information Security background in perimeter security, secure Web site design, content monitoring, HIPAA and GLBA privacy and regulation compliance, authentication and authorization methodologies, biometrics, cyber investigations, forensic analysis, incident response strategies, intrusion detection systems, laptop protection, and negotiating SLA's with outsourced managed security providers. Previously, he was a Research Director with the Information Securities Strategy Group within the GartnerGroup where he was responsible over a two year period with providing CIOs and their executive management staffs with strategic recommendations on infrastructure security planning and implementation issues for e-commerce. Mr. Spernow came to Gartner from Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA, were he was a Principal Security Consultant. While at Fidelity he created and supervised the Cyber Investigations Group within Corporate Security. In this capacity he and his staff were responsible for investigating all events that threatened Fidelity's technological infrastructure. Prior to joining Fidelity in April 1997, Mr. Spernow spent two years as the Assistant Director of the Computer Crime Section for the National White Collar Crime Center, and five years as a Computer Crime Specialist with the SEARCH Group in Sacramento, California. In addition, he spent eleven years with the Sacramento County (California) Sheriff's Department as a sworn peace officer. During this same time period Mr. Spernow also acted as a consultant to the California Department of Justice, and was responsible for teaching the only certified course offered to law enforcement in California on the investigation of high-technology crimes. Mr. Spernow is also a visiting professor at the University of New Haven where he lectures on information security and forensic issues.

Over the past ten years, Mr. Spernow has trained over 3,000 law enforcement investigators from across the country on the unique methodologies necessary to investigate and prosecute computer-related crimes. He has assisted numerous state, local and federal agencies in the investigation of cases involving computers and in the processing of seized computers for evidence.

Mr. Spernow has been quoted in national and international publications on topics related to infrastructure security, hackers, telecommunication fraud, pedophiles, and encryption. He holds a certificate from the California Department of Justice, Institute of Criminal Investigation as a "Computer Crimes Investigation" specialist. He is also certified as a "Master Instructor" by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Before his career in law enforcement, Mr. Spernow was a Senior Field Engineer for five years with Data General, a Fortune 500 computer manufacturer. In this capacity, he was responsible for the installation and repair of major commercial, industrial and top secret military computer systems.

Mr. Spernow is the former President of the New England Chapter of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association and currently heads up a steering committee exploring the possibility of having HTCIA issue a formal certification for the forensic analysis of computer media and international cyber investigation techniques. In addition he is a member of the Computer Law Association, the Florida Computer Crime Investigation Association, the Federal Computer Investigations Committee and the National Technical Investigators Association. He holds a bachelor and master's degree in Business along with minors in Psychology, Criminal Justice, and Computer Science from California State University at Sacramento. In addition, he is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). He can be reached at bill.spernow@ga.prestige.net

[HOME] [PROGRAM] [SPEAKERS] [REGISTRATION] [CLE CREDIT] [SPONSORS] [COMMITTEE]