Press Release

Tripwire Founder Wyatt Starnes First Oregonian Named To Advisory Committee Of National Institute Of Standards And Technology

Apr 29, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore. — W. Wyatt Starnes, founder of the pioneering IT security and systems management company Tripwire, has been named to the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), the primary private sector advisory group for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST acting director Hratch Semerjian appointed Starnes to the VCAT for a three-year term.

Founded in 1901, NIST is one of the oldest federally funded research organizations in the United States, and today includes the NIST Laboratories, the Baldrige National Quality Program, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Advanced Technology Program for accelerating the development of innovative technologies. A broad range of products, from atomic clocks to mammograms and semiconductors, rely on NIST's standards and technology. NIST is an agency of the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration.

"As a new member of the VCAT, Wyatt Starnes' extensive knowledge and background in information technology and cyber security will be a great asset to NIST's strategic planning process and will help NIST in its efforts to strengthen the nation's innovation infrastructure," remarked Mr. Semerjian.

As an advisory board to NIST, the 15 members of the VCAT meet quarterly to help guide the Institute's activities and programs, serving industry, academia, and other federal agencies and supported by NIST's $858 million annual budget.

"Standards are key to the formation of industries and businesses, and important to enabling economic growth in many sectors," said Mr. Starnes. "I'm deeply honored by my appointment to NIST, and see it as an opportunity to promote Oregon opportunities on a national level, and lay the groundwork for future job growth within the US, and in particular Oregon."

With NIST research influencing key industrial sectors in Oregon from high-tech to healthcare, Starnes appointment will provide Oregonians with an improved ability for input at a national policy level.

"It basically gives us a seat at the table," Starnes continued. "It's recognition for the forward thinking in Oregon that's impacting technologies such as IT and nanotechnology."

Working in cooperation with, and separate from, Tripwire, Starnes has recently founded his latest company, SignaCert, Inc. SignaCert is continuing the development of service offerings built around the Tripwire FSDB initiative, a system for assuring the integrity of IT systems and components.

About SignaCert

SignaCert is the leading provider of end-to-end and partner-based IT compliance solutions based on known-provenance whitelist technology. These methods allow SignaCert's direct customers to rapidly achieve and prove continuous compliance for the systems that deliver critical business services. The SignaCert architecture is designed to seamlessly integrate with existing change processes and continuously monitor critical business services without disruption.

Additionally, SignaCert's OEM and ISV Partners can supply to, or license content from, the SignaCert Global Trust Repository (GTR), adding new and important capabilities to their product offerings. All use cases are supported by a rich repository of vendor-independent software measurements. These "white" or "allow" list methods enable SignaCert's patented technology to be quickly deployed and provide immediate visibility into the actual state of IT infrastructure.

Founded in 2004 by 34-year IT security and compliance industry veteran Wyatt Starnes, SignaCert has assembled a world class team of industry leaders with hands-on IT experience for its executive team, board of directors, and advisory board.

SignaCert's end-customers span a wide variety of industries, including financial services, government, and healthcare.