Kenneth Bechtel:
CLASS OF 1984
Palmyra Area High SchoolClass of 1984
Palmyra, PA
Kenneth's Story
Life
This is my About the Author, used in the handbooks and other publications:
Ken first learned of computer viruses in 1988, while serving with the U.S. Army in Seoul Korea. While at the time, the computer virus threat was very small, he immediately recognized the implications they could have in the future. Spending as much of his free time as possible, he began researching viruses and other malicious software. By the time he left the service in 1993, he had already written several policies and procedures for multiple military commands concerning malware defense.
As a single parent, Ken decided to set his sights on the civilian sector and began a new career devoted to computer network security. In this capacity, Ken has been an educator for a local trade school, a LAN Manager and Lab Technician for ICSA, and the Corporate Anti-Virus specialist for a Global Manufacturing organization.
Ken also continued to maintain his independent research facility and in 1998, he established Team Anti-Virus. The goal of the organization was and is to serve as an umbrella organization for like-minded independent anti-virus researchers who were not employed by Anti-Virus firms. That same year, he was invited to join the WildList Organi...Expand for more
zation as a reporter.
In 1999, Ken was instrumental in founding the Anti-Virus Information Exchange Network (AVIEN), an organization that brings together corporate malware researchers and systems administrators to provide information sharing and advance warning of malware threats. This unbiased free exchange environment has proved a valuable asset for early warning of new and emerging threats ? often hours before the antivirus vendors themselves being releasing information.
Ken is a strong advocate for educate, maintaining that education remains one of the best defenses in the fight against malware. As Ken often states, the more Network Administrators and users know, the more they will be able to help themselves, and subsequently lower the impact of self-replicating code. Ken's outside of the box defenses have earned him the respect of his peers. Indeed, many of Ken?s ideas have been widely adopted and accepted in the corporate arena, and are respected in the formal security and malware research circles.
Ken spends far too much time on the computer and managing his networks, but still manages to enjoy quality time with his wife and daughters. Ken even steals a bit of time every now and then for target shooting and paintball.
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