In December 2008, Winn Schwartau was voted one of the Top 25 Most Influential People in the Security Industry by Security Magazine.
"Our industry’s
leaders are those we read about, hear about or speak about. This is Security
Magazine’s third annual Top 25 Most Influential People in the Security Industry
list for 2008, which includes government leaders, industry authors, CSOs and
research pioneers, to name a few." - Erin J. Wolford, Security Magazine
#20: Winn Schwartau, Founder, SCIPP International and InfowarCon; Founder and CEO, Trusted Learning Corporation; Industry Author
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“In
the way-olden days of vacuum tubes, I learned engineering from my father who
produced Bob Dylan and Peter Paul & Mary. My mother made me read the
dictionary and all 26 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. They both taught
me to not accept (almost) anything on face value, question conventional wisdom
and examine problems (opportunities) from every angle except straight on.
(Everyone else has already done that.)
“Who knew that a no-name like me would get
umpteen visits from spooks and spies Information Warfare in 1992? They thought
the book was classified information, written by the he-devil.
“I quickly
discovered that the military, senior brass, executives and “People in Charge”
are the biggest security leaks. In 1996, I was speaking about the security
integration of private sector and the government. At one point, I referenced
some security details about North
Korea, NSA-encryption agendas and French
intrusions into Boeing. One general, a two-star, literally slid out of his
chair, hollering at his two Colonel-grade aides, “How the hell did he know
that?” I smiled to myself: “DATA CONFIRMED.”
“Security is
really about people and the technology should be absolutely incidental.”
“My Bucket List would include the following:
- Assist in creating a national cyber-corps, focused on using the innate untapped talents of kids from middle through high school. Mom and pop and family are mission critical to the security of enterprise and country.
- Imbue IT manufacturers with the mindset that product simplicity is good, enhances personal and national security and operational reliability.
- Get ISC2, SANS, MCSE, etc. courses and certifications to teach failure rather than success."