Rick Howard, Director - iDefense Intelligence
Mr. Howard is responsible for the day-to-day intelligence gathering and distribution efforts at iDefense and is charged with developing strategic and tactical plans for the department. He is an experienced computer security professional with proven success in the utilization of network intelligence for network defense. Prior to joining iDefense, Mr. Howard lead the intelligence gathering activities at Counterpane Internet Security and ran Counterpane's global network of Security Operations Centers (SOCs). Mr. Howard served in the US Army for 23 years in various command and staff positions involving information technology and security and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2004. He spent the last two years of his career as the US Army's Computer Emergency Response Team Chief where he coordinated Network Defense, Network Intelligence and Network Attack operations for the Army's global network. Mr. Howard holds a Masters of Science in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School and an Engineering degree from the United States Military Academy where he also taught computer science later in his military career.

Ralph Thomas, Manager - Security Intelligence, MalCode Ops
Mr. Thomas heads the iDefense Malicious Code Operations Group. This group is responsible for the active collection of open-source intelligence, and for the reporting and analysis of public reports and outbreaks of malicious code. Mr. Thomas also directs the malicious code research lab at iDefense, which is tasked with the development of tools for discovery and analysis of malicious code and related threats.

Before joining iDefense, Mr. Thomas worked as Principal Computer Forensics Consultant in several data acquisition and litigation support projects and served as expert witness in federal court. Early in his career Mr. Thomas designed hardware and real-time software in the controls and digital television sectors before turning his attention to enterprise software. A Certified Lotus Specialist, he has expertise in e-mail archiving, document imaging, Siebel, SAP, and Oracle Applications. Mr. Thomas' educational background includes a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University Dortmund, Germany.

Jayson Jean, Manager - Security Intelligence, VAT
Mr. Jean brings more than eight years of technical experience in the software, telecommunications and security industries. Early in his career, Mr. Jean worked at several start-up companies as a Network Engineer. Prior to joining iDefense, Mr. Jean worked for SAIC, where he served as a security analyst for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Mr. Jean heads the VeriSign iDefense Vulnerability Aggregation Team (VAT), which is responsible for the analysis and documentation of public vulnerabilities and exploits, and for ensuring that iDefense customers are properly notified of these issues. Mr. Jean remains an active alumnus of Virginia Tech, where he earned his bachelor's degree.

Eli Jellenc, Manager - All Source Intelligence
Mr. Jellenc has worked for VeriSign for almost three years. Prior to this he received an MA in International Security Studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a BA in International Studies and Philosophy from the University of Mississippi. He has studied also at the Imperial College, London, and the Université de Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France.

Mr. Jellenc's prior professional experience includes research positions at the UK's Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) and the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC.