About the Authors

Ben Smith is a senior security strategist at Microsoft, where he works on developing long-term security strategy. Ben’s driving interest is in researching methods for improving security management and measurement techniques. In addition to being a featured speaker at IT industry conferences worldwide, Ben regularly consults with the National Science Foundation on improving cyber security at community colleges and universities. Ben was the inaugural chair of the vendor-neutral security certification CompTIA Security+ and currently is an adviser to the United States delegation to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), working on information security standards. Ben is co-author of the Microsoft^® Windows^® Security Resource Kit and Assessing Network Security, both from Microsoft Press. Ben’s regular column, “Business End,” debuted in the September 2004 issue of Windows IT Pro magazine. He is certified as an MCSE, CISSP, and CCNA.

Brian Komar is the president and co-founder of IdentIT Inc., a consulting firm specializing in identity integration and network security solutions. Together with Paul Adare, Brian’s business partner, IdentIT partners with Microsoft on several ventures, which include developing security-related courseware for Microsoft Learning and providing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Rights Management Server (RMS), Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS), and network security consulting services. Brian has written several white papers for the Microsoft Security Team. He has also written books related to computer security, including the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 PKI and Certificate Security, the Microsoft Windows Security Resource Kit, and Firewalls for Dummies. Brian is a frequent speaker at IT industry conferences. If you wish to contact Brian, you can reach him at bkomar@identit.ca.