Andrea Simmons

M.Inst.ISP, CISSP, CISM, MBCS CITP, BA
Founder and Director, Simmons Professional Services

Andrea Simmons is an experienced information compliance evangelist/business consultant and project manager with expertise in several disciplines. She has over 12 years of wide experience of the information security industry within both the public and private sector, implementing compliance programmes (across Data Protection and Data Handling, PCI DSS, Freedom of Information, ISO27001, GCSx Code of Connection) and information security management systems (ISMS).  Andrea is currently running her own consultancy business and works associatively with several public and private sector organisations including Socitm Consulting & Learning, Amtec and RSA.  Andrea writes a Security blog for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT – www.bcs.org/blogs/security and has been a member of the Management Committee of IAAC – www.iaac.org.uk - for several years. She is also a member of BCS and its’ relevant specialist groups – Security, Consultancy, Law – and is on the BCS Register of Security Experts. Andrea achieved Chartered IT Professional Status in February 2007 and M.Inst.ISP in 2008.  Andrea is a full and founding member of the Institute of Information Security Professionals (IISP).

In November 2008, Andrea wrote a 50,000 word report on achieving best practice in information security – which highlighted the need to focus on the umbrella view of information governance, under which sits information assurance, information security, Data Protection, Freedom of Information, and all the compliance, legislative and regulatory frameworks.  This was published in December 2008 (Achieving Best Practice in Public Sector Information Security, Ark Group Publishing, ISBN 978-1-906355-39-5) and Andrea commenced a course of PhD study in the subject area in October 2009.

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