...a man of speculation, whose trade it is not to do any thing, but to observe every thing; and who is often capable of combining together the powers of the most distant and dissimilar objects.

Adam Smith

about mark

Who am I? First of all, a writer, musician, and father. But to make a living, I'm an entrepreneurial technology leader specializing in software design, innovation, and security. I help tech businesses create software that reaches new markets using new ideas. I'm an expert in computer networks and security software, and know enough to be dangerous about cloud computing and intellectual property. My experience comes from places like CompuServe, UUNET, Endforce, and most recently Sophos, where I was Chief Technologist. I was also co-founder at a small, high-profile Internet startup. Over the years, I've co-authored a handful of patents and contributed technical standards to the community. I've been a programmer, a product manager, and a people manager.

I've also been a farmhand, an actor, and a soldier.

I live and work near Columbus, Ohio, one of the bright spots of the Midwest economy, and a true jewel of innovative tech. I strongly support locally-grown entrepreneurialism and innovation, and have been a technology consultant to TechColumbus, the city's premier tech incubator.

Résumé

You can download a PDF copy of my résumé right here. You can also view my profile and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Patents as inventor

These are software patents. I also have a few patents pending.

• "Device plug-in system for configuring network device over a public network." M. Beadles et al., U.S. Patent 7,284,042, October 2007.
• "Policy engine for modular generation of policy for a flat, per-device database." M. Beadles et al., U.S. Patent 7,159,125, January 2007.
• "Selection and storage of policies in network management." M. Beadles et al., U.S. Patent 7,130,854, October 2006.

Publications

• "Network Access Control (NAC) for Dummies." Co-ghostwriter for Arnold Reinhold, Wiley, January 2008. Note: this book on NAC is the Sophos 7-chapter edition reviewed here, not the identically-titled Juniper Networks version available at the Wiley store.
• "The Network Access Identifier." B. Aboba, J. Arkko, M. Beadles, P. Eronen, IETF RFC 4282, December 2005.
• "TCG Trusted Network Connect: TNC Architecture for Interoperability, Version 1.0." [PDF] T. Hardjono, editor, Trusted Computing Group, May 2005.
• "TCG Trusted Network Connect: TNC IF-IMV, Version 1.0." [PDF] M. Beadles, editor, Trusted Computing Group, May 2005.
• "Criteria for Evaluating Network Access Server Protocols." M. Beadles, D. Mitton, IETF RFC 3169, September 2001.
• "Criteria for Evaluating AAA Protocols for Network Access." B. Aboba et al., IETF RFC 2989, November 2000.
• "Network Access Server Requirements Next Generation (NASREQNG) NAS Model." M. Beadles, D. Mitton, IETF RFC 2881, July 2000.

Selected speaking and panelist engagements

In addition to various local and regional conferences in the US and Canada, I've spoken at:

• Data Protection Summit, Irvine CA, March 2007. Expert speaker on data security. Featured in Byte-and-Switch Magazine, March 15, 2007, "Users Shatter Storage Myths," by James Rogers.
• Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference, September 2005, Austin TX. Speaker on standards for network access control.
• Infosec Forum, May 2005, Columbus OH. Information security and access control.
• Global Security Consortium Spring Summit, April 2005, Washington DC. Expert panelist, venture-capital-funded security technology.
• "Securing Web Services," InfoWorld Next Generation Web Services Conference, January 2002, Expert panelist. Featured in "Next-Generation Web Services," IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 12-14, Mar./Apr. 2002..

Selected interviews and media

I've occasionally served as a technology expert in the print, online, and video media, including:

• "NAC Best Practices: Three Simple Steps to Deploy Network Access Control," TechRepublic webcast with Derek Brink and James Hilliard, December 2007.
• "NAC Simplified: What Problems Can YOUR Business Solve Through Network Access Control?," TechRepublic webcast with James Hilliard, June 2007.
• "IP Security", VON Magazine, June 2006. Interviewed by Richard Grigonis.
• "Why Automated Patch Management Remains Elusive," Enterprise Systems Journal, April 2006. Interviewed by Mathew Schwartz.
• "10 Tips For Protecting Sensitive Enterprise Data," Network Computing Magazine, January 2006. Interviewed by Phil Britt.
• "End-Point Security: Strengthening the Weakest Link," (webcast) Security and Technology Online (SATO), September 2005.
• "Worms Steal Security Secrets," SC Magazine, April 2004. Interviewed by Ron Condon.
• "The Slow Lane," The Industry Standard, October 2000. Interviewed by Anita Chabria. (This article is of particular local interest since it discusses the very early days of the software tech industry in Central Ohio.)

Professional affiliations

• I am a member in good standing of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the Information Systems Security Assocation (ISSA).
• In the past, I've also contributed actively to (but am not currently affiliated with) the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), and in a leadership role in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

I am disillusioned enough to know that no man's opinion on any subject is worth a damn unless backed up with enough genuine information to make him really know what he's talking about.

HP Lovecraft