Welcome to ACSAC's 25th Year Anniversary - we have a great program lined up this year, and I'm really excited about it!

First, we have a tremendous line-up of speakers: Lorrie Cranor and Mary Ann Davidson are our invited speakers, and Li Gong and Matt Bishop will present on classic papers, and we have added a special lunch speaker, Peter Neumann.

We also have a fabulous program this year, with 44 accepted papers (representing an acceptance rate of < 20%). This was a record year for us, with both the largest number of papers ever submitted and the lowest acceptance rate! Included in our program is a great line-up of panels and case studies, ranging from subjects such as government research needs as identified by program managers, to controversial topics such as requiring credentials for security professionals, to popular favorites such as highlights from the New Security Paradigms Workshop. We will have the fast-paced works-in-progress session again this year, and have added a poster session as well.

As in previous years, ACSAC is also hosting a workshop before the conference, this year on cloud computing and security, as well as technical tutorials on hot topics such as digital forensics and virtualization.

This year ACSAC has also added a fourth track to the program, focusing on FISMA training. Not to be confused with our technical tutorials, FISMA training is being offered as part of our ACSAC technical program, and will focus on risk management and the newly-released NIST 800 guidelines.

The FISMA training, technical tutorials, and the entire technical program qualify for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) - all you need to do is submit your attendance records for professional security certification.

And, to top it all off, ACSAC is celebrating its 25th year by meeting in a fabulous location - Hawaii! Both our reception and dinner will be held outdoors, and we even have arranged for special entertainment. Additionally, for those people whose flights do not leave until late on Friday or are staying for the weekend to enjoy the location, we have an excursion planned to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

I look forward to seeing you in Hawaii!

Dr. Carrie Gates
2009 ACSAC Chair