Funnily, my life insurance policy no longer covers me for accidents and incidents which may occur in a lift. So I did contemplate taking the stairs for once, until I noticed the Privacy Professor herself, Rebecca Herold stepping into one. Not a person to miss once in a lifetime opportunities I jumped in and hoped for the best.

I am:

A person who does a very wide range of things and is interested in an even wider range of things!  I have my own company where I do information security, privacy and compliance work, in addition to doing a lot of writing. Plus I am also an adjunct professor for the Norwich University Master of Science in Information Assurance program.  I also am a long-time active farmer in central Iowa, and I enjoy spending time with my sons, running, all kinds of music, animals, insects and anything outdoors.

Tell me about your career and how you got to where you are today?

I didn’t set out to do what I do; I just evolved to it.  I started as a 7th – 12th grade math and computer science teacher, from there went to being a systems analyst at a large multi-national financial and insurance company.  I moved into the internal audit department, and as a result of an audit I was asked to build a significant portion of their new information security department.  I left that position early in 2000 to join a consulting business, and I started my own business in 2004.

Before I became an infosec professional I wanted to be:

A veterinarian, a musician, an artist, a writer, an athlete.

The best thing about being an infosec professional is:

Getting to learn something new every day, as technology and work practices evolve, more security and privacy risks are created!  It is also very interesting to meet the many different types of folks who do information security work.

The biggest misconception about infosec is:

That is only applies to networks and digital information.  Information security is much broader and applies to protecting information in all forms, and meeting compliance with laws, regulations, policies, industry standards and contractual requirements.

My favourite saying is:

When is comes to work, "Encrypting mobile data: Just do it!"  In general, there are many quotes and sayings I like.  I often put them into my articles, chapters and books.

Three people I want to have dinner with are:

I love this question!  So many different possibilities, and I like to consider that some who have passed are also still alive and available.  With this in mind, here are some groups of three that I would love to dine with…

• Fellow Missouri natives would make some great dinner conversation:
  • Harry Truman
  • Brad Pitt
  • Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
• To discuss how to address world hunger:
  • Norman Borlaug
  • Bill Clinton
  • Bill Gates
• For musicians who would be interesting to hear chat with each other:
  • Ella Fitzgerald
  • Freddy Mercury
  • Michael Jackson
• Athletes
  • Michael Jordan
  • Dara Torres
  • Kurt Warner
• And so may other possibilities…

Infosec’s greatest weakness is:

Always being behind technology innovation.

The analogy I use most when describing infosec terms is:

I like to use event and situations from everyday types of situations; particularly when talking with non-technical folks.  Different types of school scenarios often work well.  For example, for threats, vulnerabilities and risks I like to use my snowball analogy for business leaders (http://www.privacyguidance.com/files/threatsvulnerabilitiesandrisks.pdf).

The last time I was truly amazed was:

Yesterday, when I watched my Doberman, Stella, jump into the pond and come back up, quick as a flash, with a fish in her mouth…that dog is quick!

I’m fascinated by:

Nature, the capabilities of the human body, and the universe.

I’d be lost without my:

Sons

If people want to know more about me or contact me:

Rebecca Herold, CISSP, CIPP, CISM, CISA, FLMI
"The Privacy Professor"TM
Rebecca Herold & Associates, LLC

cell: 515.491.1564
business:  515.996.2199
rebeccaherold@rebeccaherold.com
http://www.theprivacyprofessor.com
Blog: http://www.realtime-itcompliance.com
Professor at:  http://www3.norwich.edu/msia
Twitter ID: http://twitter.com/PrivacyProf