Mari Frank Interviews Laura Wilson, JD - Privacy Advocate; Business Consultant, Techlex Solutions; Attorney

Laura Wilson will be discussing finding and fixing information security and other compliance gaps in the financial services industry. Despite the great concern expressed by consumers, shareholders, and regulators, significant gaps and bypasses of controls remain. An information security breach has implications for consumers, investors, and the larger market, and may compromise national and global security, so it's important to know that many of these bypasses can readily be fixed. The companies for which Laura has negotiated and managed complex outsourcing and vendor relationships include: A publicly-traded global credit card company that co-authored the PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards. One of the largest publicly-traded mortgage companies in the U.S. A publicly-traded international investment advisory firm. Laura works in governance / risk / compliance, deal analysis, and problem resolution related to highly-sensitive systems and data. Her experience encompasses business and legal roles for highly-regulated organizations, including publicly-traded international financial services (banking / payment card industry / mortgages / insurance / investment advisors), venture capital portfolio companies, and numerous software and services projects involving regulated systems and sensitive data. Laura has trained colleagues on industry standards, gap analysis and risk mitigation. She writes training materials to help stakeholders identify and remedy compliance and security gaps, and verify appropriate due diligence. She volunteers with professional groups and not-for-profits interested in the regulatory, governance, information security and national security implications of financial systems and regulated data. Laura holds a Juris Doctor, (licensed as an attorney in California), and is a CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) candidate (passed CISA exam; certification pending). She is pursuing security certifications including CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), and CGEIT (Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT). Laura served on active duty for over 8 years in the United States Army. She was a Staff Sergeant, paratrooper, TV / radio broadcaster; served in Military Intelligence, Psychological Operations, Communications, and Public Relations positions; and won several Soldier of the Year awards.