Ernie Hayden Bio
Ernie is currently a Managing Principal for Verizon Business with extensive experience in the power utility industry and critical infrastructure protection/information security. At Verizon Business he is a primary contributor to customer dialogue in the areas of smart grid cybersecurity and electric grid cybersecurity including NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards.
Prior to Verizon, he was Information Security Strategic Advisor in the Compliance Office at Seattle City Light. In this role, he was the primary leader of utility-wide efforts focused on complying with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Standards.
Also, while at Seattle City Light, Ernie was designated as the Chief Information Security Officer and was on the Smart Grid RFP Development Committee (focused on Federal Stimulus Funds) where Ernie's role was focused on addressing cyber security requirements.
Ernie was also the Chief Information Security Officer for the Port of Seattle - one of the nation's largest combined airport and seaport operations. In this role, Ernie was responsible for information security policy and practices, business continuity/disaster recovery planning, and privacy issues for the Port.
During Ernie's tenure at the Port he co-chaired a large, regional critical infrastructure protection exercise called Blue Cascades II and was invited to speak at the National Association of Attorneys General at the request of Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna. Ernie was profiled in a cover story in Information Security Magazine for his work with the CISO of the City of Seattle.
Prior to Ernie's arrival at the Port he held several significant management positions in both the business management and the information security management arenas. Some of Ernie's responsibilities included President and CEO of MCM Enterprise of Bellevue, Washington - an advanced sensor technology company for the hydroelectric sector; IT security lead for the Seattle Justice Information System in the Seattle Municipal Courts and Seattle Police Department; Director of Security Services for Alstom ESCA software company of Bellevue, Washington - a major player in the SCADA and unregulated energy sector; Executive Director for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) covering the Western US and Canadian operations; and commissioned officer in the US Navy qualified as a nuclear engineer and surface warfare officer.
Ernie is often invited to speak at information security, critical infrastructure protection and disaster planning meetings, seminars and conferences. He is a member and contributor to the Cloud Security Alliance and was the leader for the CSA's Information Lifecycle and Storage Security and Storage Domain in Version 2 of the Cloud Security Alliance Cybersecurity Guidelines.
Ernie is also an instructor, curriculum developer and advisor for the University of Washington Information System Security Certificate program in Seattle. Additionally, Ernie was a contract instructor for the Cyberterrorism Defense and Analysis Center, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Ernie is an accomplished writer. He published a chapter on "Cybercrime's Impact on Information Security," in the Oxford University Press Cybercrime and Security Legal Series, and an article on his original research on data lifecycle security in Information Security Magazine. He has been a frequently invited author for Disaster Resource Guide and TechTarget.
He is very active in the areas of critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity at national, regional and local levels. Ernie is a CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). He received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (with International Business emphasis) from the University of Washington in Seattle; has completed graduate-level coursework, and is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy, Seattle Police Department Citizens Academy, and Center for Creative Leadership - Leadership Development Program.
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