Communications networks serve at the heart of operations for critical industry government organizations such as national defense and security agencies, first responders, public utilities, and transportation organizations. Networks must be protected against a broad spectrum of threats and vulnerabilities, including unauthorized access by malicious electronic intruders and hackers, disruption caused by natural disasters, and inadvertent service interruptions mistakenly caused by service and support personnel.

Building a secure network is a critical task for enterprise network architects and the network service providers that serve critical industry. This role includes design of survivability in network architecture, the creation of a services infrastructure for maximum systems resiliency, and securing operations of networks with security at the proper point in the network architecture.

This session will explore best practices in securing the critical communications network architectures against threats and vulnerabilities. Specifically, panelists will discuss the requirements and solutions that must be employed to achieve an acceptable level of security.

Jim Archuleta Director, Government Solutions Marketing Ciena

Mr. Archuleta is responsible for defining and positioning innovative business and network solutions for Ciena's government and enterprise customers. He has 16 years of career experience in the telecom industry, during which he has built solid relationships in the service provider and equipment vendor segments. During his nine-year tenure with MCI, Mr. Archuleta held staff and management positions in product marketing and product delivery in MCI's data services organization, leading strategic product planning for frame relay data services.

Steve Cortez Consulting Systems Engineer Booz Allen Hamilton

Mr. Cortez has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry designing large-scale network and business development solutions for major local and long-distance carriers. In the past three years, he has focused on government initiatives at the DOD's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Previously, Mr. Cortez served as an optical standards engineer developing network integration strategies for local and long-distance carrier initiatives focused on the optical user-network interface/network-network interface (UNI/NNI), GMPLS control plane, and GFP protocols. He has telecom experience with long-distance carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Qwest, Level3, MCI, etc.) and local inter-exchange carriers (Verizon, SBC, Bell South, etc.) designing and deploying optical network technologies.

Shankar Rao Senior Product Manager Qwest

Shankar Rao is a senior product manager at Qwest, where he is engaged in developing data communications solutions for enterprise networks. He previously led the technology management group for Internet Protocol technologies at Qwest, where he was responsible for directing technology deployments that supported Qwest's core network infrastructure. Prior to joining Qwest in 1998, Shankar gained operational experience helping run Sprint's global data network. Shankar has a MBA degree in General Management from the University of Denver, Colorado, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Mysore, India.

Robert Schrage Head of Network Architecture and Standards Reuters

Mr. Schrage has more than 20 years of experience working at Reuters and is employed as the head of the network architecture and standards division. He is experienced in all areas of networking and telecommunications, including architecture, design, R&D, and security for the distribution and collection of financial market data. For more than 15 years, Mr. Schrage has held a variety of positions developing products for delivery of financial data and applications on both public and private networks. He has also been responsible for the initiation and ongoing management of the global network architecture, leading Reuters in its use of emerging distribution technologies.

Andy Solterbeck Vice President, Product Management, Commercial Division SafeNet

Mr. Solterbeck is responsible for realigning the strategic direction of his business unit to achieve more efficient market positioning and increased profitability. He comes to SafeNet with more than 15 years of sales, management, and developmental marketing experience. Prior to joining SafeNet, he served as general business manager for Senetas Pty Ltd., a group of companies specializing in the delivery of IT services to the finance and government sectors.