About William Yang, CISSP

William Yang is a recognized expert in information systems and security, specializing in the development and improvement of security processes that ensure long-term business value. Prior to starting WDY Enterprises, LLC in in 2004, he served Ohio's government as the State IT Security Policy Officer. In that role, Mr. Yang worked to develop and promulgate sound IT security practices, facilitate the adoption of State of Ohio IT Policy, and support the roles of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services and Ohio Office of Information Technology in Ohio's homeland security efforts. Mr. Yang worked directly with the directors of the Govenor's cabinet agencies to establish an information security stance for Ohio's government, and regularly participated in senior interagency cooperation to develop Ohio's security strategy. He was an instrumental part of the state's HIPAA Security Rule implementation workgroup, helping to shape the HIPAA interpretation for Ohio's government.

 

Mr. Yang's prior experience also includes serving as the director of operations for Secure Interiors, a start-up company offering managed Internet security services. In that role, Mr. Yang was responsible for all aspects of service delivery--including event profiling and analysis, intelligence gathering, network architecture and design, deployments, call center operation, sales support, technical support and customer relationship management--for the company's managed firewall, VPN, and intrusion detection services. Mr. Yang was responsible for system design decisions, policies, procedures, and tools which led to improved quality of service while reducing overall cost of operation.

 

Since 1996, Mr. Yang has presented on information security topics with a wide range of organizations around the country. He has given invited talks as a keynote speaker at 14 conferences organized by the FBI to academic, government, and business entities across the country in 2000, and has, at the request of the Department of Justice, provided training on information security approaches to FBI special agents at special law enforcement conferences in Cleveland, Baton Rouge, and Washington, DC. He has been an invited speaker for organizations ranging from Ohio's municipal and state government chief information officers, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, the Marcus Evans SecureIT conference, the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, the SANS Institute, Ohio's defense contractors and the American Association of Insurance Services.

 

Mr. Yang began his career leading information security, operations continuity, outreach, and software development projects for the Ohio Supercomputer Center. In 1994, he designed and built the Greater Columbus Free-Net, which partnered with area libraries, schools, and community organizations to provide public Internet access to central Ohio. In 1998, Mr. Yang co-founded National InfraGard, a national public-private partnership operating in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to improve the security of U.S. Critical infrastructures and prevent, investigate, and prosecute computer crimes. His work led to formal thanks from the National Infrastructure Protection Center (now part of the US Department of Homeland Security), and recognition "for exceptional service in the public interest" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2001.