SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- (RSA Conference) -- The Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing trust in information and communications technology products and services through the advancement of effective security assurance methods, today announced it has named former White House cybersecurity advisor Howard A. Schmidt as its Executive Director.

Schmidt brings to SAFECode more than 40 years of information security experience, spanning defense, law enforcement, and corporate security. Most recently, Schmidt served as Special Assistant to the President and the Cybersecurity Coordinator for the U.S. government from 2009 to 2012. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating interagency cybersecurity policy development and implementation, and for coordinating engagement with federal, state, local, international and private sector cybersecurity partners.

"SAFECode has always been focused on a technical mission – identifying and promoting the most effective methods for increasing trust in commercial technology products and services. However, we can't do this work in a bubble," said Steve Lipner, Chairman of the SAFECode Board of Directors and Partner Director of Program Management, Trustworthy Computing Security for Microsoft Corporation. "We must work together with customers and governments to foster a dialogue on software assurance, and ensure that our technical efforts have the most positive impact possible on the security challenges we all face.  Howard's unmatched experience in bringing technical experts together with defense, law enforcement and business leaders will help SAFECode to not only execute its technical mission, but also increase our global reach."

Schmidt has had significant experience leading international security associations and forums throughout his career. He has served as President of both the Information Security Forum (ISF) and Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). Schmidt also was the co-founder and first president of the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC). He was the Vice-Chair of, and Security Strategist for, the Board of Directors for (ISC)². He is a former executive board member of the International Organization of Computer Evidence, and served as the Co-chairman of the Federal Computer Investigations Committee.

"With more headlines everyday, cybersecurity has caught the attention of business leaders and governments worldwide.  Though software assurance is rarely the subject of those stories, there are experts in product security doing important work to reduce vulnerabilities in our technology infrastructure and improve its resistance to attack," said Howard Schmidt, executive director of SAFECode. "SAFECode brings together many of our most experienced software security professionals in a unique global collaboration that can have a real impact on the security of our technology infrastructure. As its Executive Director, I look forward to working with the members to advance and promote the practice of software assurance."

About SAFECode

The Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode) is a non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to increasing trust in information and communications technology products and services through the advancement of effective software assurance methods. SAFECode is a global, industry-led effort to identify and promote best practices for developing and delivering more secure and reliable software, hardware and services. Its members include Adobe Systems Incorporated, EMC Corporation, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corp., SAP AG, Siemens AG and Symantec Corp. For more information, please visit www.safecode.org.

Membership in SAFECode is open to commercial technology providers with significant global business activity in hardware, software and/or services and that have demonstrated a commitment, and dedicated resources, to software assurance. For more information, please visit www.safecode.org.

Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Stacy Simpson
Policy and Communications Director
SAFECode
+1 781-876-8833
stacy@safecode.org

SOURCE SAFECode