Walter Turner

The author, Walter L. Turner, is Vice President at Secure Web Apps, a cyber security and web software company. He has been fascinated with IT since he built his first computer after finishing two master's degrees by the age of 21. Adept in 13 programming languages, Walt has done system, application, real time embedded, operating system, simulation, and web programming in his long and illustrious career. He has also served as a server administrator, data base designer, test team leader, manager, director, and president. Walt has consulted in over 17 industries.

Walt was first exposed to cyber security in the 1980's when tasked with a project to provide networking to 280+ correspondent banks. His contributions, innovative for the time, were honeypots, time of day and week controls, extra authentication, protocols, and the use of red (attack) and blue (defense) teams to improve the cyber security design.

He followed this by integrating cyber security testing into the test team for a world-wide logistics system for a subdivision of American Airlines.

Walt then took 14 years out to teach computer science including becoming department chair. While chair, he grew the department by 500%. His graduates were sought out by industry and held the all-time, all-major starting salary record for many years.

Walt began work on web applications in 1995, the year after the Internet became available. His first project? A 1,500-page website done using students. This is where he says he got his gray hair. Next up was a 100-page portal that was never hacked in spite of existing outside the firewall.

A 450-page, 7-volume cyber security design for a programming framework to meet FISMA, HIPAA, and PCI requirements was next for Walt, while working at Corporate Web Consulting.

Walt is currently the Vice President at Secure Web Apps which offers cyber security products for server, workstation, and web application protection. More details can be found on their website at https://SecureWebapps.com.

Walt is a native of Kansas, but has lived in the South for the last many years. He claims to have a working knowledge of Southern. His hobbies are woodworking, remodeling, reading, movie watching, and kid raisin'. Walt and his wife have nine children.

Walt would love to hear your comments. Write him at: cybersec4u@SecureWebApps.com.