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Southwest Information Assurance

Background
Located in Silver City, New Mexico, Southwest Information Assurance is owned and operated by David R. Furnas. Recognized as a thought leader in information assurance, a subject matter expert in multiple areas of federal and state regulatory compliance, and a rigorous forensic investigator, David's body of work also includes the architecture, engineering, and comprehensive life cycle management of information assurance safeguards, networks, systems, and software as well as management of staff and operations for some of the nation's leading public and private enterprises in the healthcare, financial services, and electric utility sectors. His professional qualifications additionally include:
  • More than 23 years experience in information assurance, forensic investigation, software engineering, systems engineering, network engineering, eCommerce, project management, disaster recovery and business continuity planning, data center design and operation, and corporate governance for both public and private enterprises
  • A proven commitment to recognized standards and codes of ethics, professional practices, and quality
  • A proven ability to specify solutions that effectively meet business, functional and technical requirements while achieving reasonable and appropriate levels of protection and compliance
  • Certified as an Information Security Manager (CISM) by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
  • Certified as an Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2)
  • Certified by Microsoft Corporation as a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and formerly a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
  • Certified as a Product Specialist (CPS) by Internet Security Systems
  • Member of the Albuquerque and Sacramento Valley chapters of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)
  • Past President of the Sacramento Valley Chapter of ISSA and currently a member of the Advisory Board
  • Member of the Culminis Taskforce on Building Security Awareness
  • Former member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Region Citizen Corps Council
  • Member of the Community Service Reserve Corps, Special Operations Division of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
  • Former adjunct faculty member, Cisco Certified Academy Instructor, and Director of the Cisco Networking Academy at MTI College of Business and Technology in Sacramento, California
  • More than 2,000 hours of supplemental education and graduate studies in security, technology, business, and law
  • Distinguished Alumnus, National University, La Jolla, California
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Cum Laude, National University, La Jolla, California
  • Invited speaker, moderator, or chair at industry symposia including the 2005 Mimbres Region Information Security Symposium in Silver City, 2005 Corporate Security Roundtable in San Diego, 15th annual (2004) Northern California Information Systems Security Symposium in Sacramento, 76th national convention of the American Health Information Management Association in Washington, D.C., and the third annual Cyber Security Summit for the Financial Services Sector in New York City
  • Author of articles in recognized industry publications including: "Due Care or Do Not Care," ISSA Journal, September 2004