Steering Committee
The Toronto Area Security Klatch is presently managed by a Steering Committee that was formed in October 2004.
All members of the steering committee have volunteered their time and may join or resign at any time.
The responsibilities of the committee are:
- To inaugurate and drive the Toronto Area Security Klatch until such time as an elected Executive Committee can be elected
- To work with the membership to develop appropriate by-laws governing the activities of TASK
- To make arrangements for all group meetings, including meeting location, speakers, room reservations, equipment, refreshments, door prizes, and handouts
- To regularly communicate with members via meeting notices and e-mails using the group's e-mail address
The Steering Committee is made up of:
Robert Beggs, CISSP CISA
President, DigitalDefence
Robert Beggs has been involved in Information Security for more than 10 years. Following completion of the Queen's MBA for Science and Technology, he worked as a Systems Engineer at Nortel Network. This was followed by work with Netigy, and then with a Canadian Fortune 500 corporation where he developed and implemented security policies and acted as an internal consultant on matters such as mergers and acquisitions, physical security, and management of security projects.
Brian Bourne, CISSP, MCSE:Security
President, CMS Consulting Inc.
Brian Bourne brings to TASK over 15 years of IT experience. His expertise is grounded in systems integration work with large, complex, multi-platform networks. A regular attendee of events such as Defcon and a with a long standing interest in security, Brian particularily enjoys speaking about both attack and defense techniques.
Brian's current focus is building the strongest team of Microsoft Infrastructure and Security Experts in Canada. Beyond managing all day to day operations at CMS, Brian maintains his technical edge through consulting and participation on with numerous Microsoft technology related events. He maintains the latest technical certifications (such as MCSE2003) and leverages his past experiences to provide leadership to the growing team of CMS Consultants.
Robert Buren, MA
Senior Marketing Manager, Microsoft Canada
Robert Buren co-founded TASK while heading up marketing and sales at CMS Consulting Inc. In 2007 Robert made the move to Microsoft Canada to work in the Partner side of the business. He brings to TASK a diversity of technology, process improvement, business development and marketing consulting experience. Prior to CMS, Robert created ebusiness marketing strategies and provided leadership in web design, research, writing and content editing for new ventures and renowned businesses across Canada.
Robert holds a Master's degree from the University of Victoria, an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario and is qualified as a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Bruce Cowper - Senior Security Strategist, Trustworthy Computing
Microsoft Corp.
Bruce Cowper is a Senior Security Strategist in Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft Corp. In this role, he is responsible as a subject matter expert for helping to drive Microsoft’s security strategy and well as awareness of Security, Privacy, and Reliability and Accessibility activities across Trustworthy Computing. He was until recently was the driving force behind the Microsoft Cloud Incident Response team covering Online Security, Privacy and Reliability.
Cowper joined Microsoft in 2004, and held several positions at Microsoft Canada before moving to the United States, including cloud response communications manager, virtualization lead, chief security advisor, security and privacy lead and IT pro advisor.
Before joining Microsoft, Cowper served on the board of directors of several IT companies, where he specialized in Internet-based and communication services, secure system design, and served as a consultant for Law Enforcement communities around the world.
Cowper is a founding member of the Security Education Conference Toronto (SecTor), the Toronto Area Security Klatch (TASK), the Ottawa Area Security Klatch (OASK) and an active member of numerous organizations across North America, including the Seattle Cloud Security Alliance chapter.
Eldon Sprickerhoff
Co-Founder, eSentire
Eldon Sprickerhoff has over 15 years of experience in the GTA and NYC IT communities working on security vulnerability analysis, architecture, and countermeasures. In 2001 he co-founded eSentire, Inc., which has grown to be the leading Managed Security Services Provider for alternative investment firms (including hedge funds) with sensors deployed across North America, the UK, and Asia. He holds a B.Math. in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and is both CISSP and CISA certified.
Currently, his free-time activities revolve around family, epicurean adventures, and aikido.