The Young & Restless: Christopher Klaus, Internet Security Systems

While hackers and cybercriminals receive attention for the work they do in Internet security, they aren't the only ones who deserve it. Consider Christopher Klaus, the 27-year-old founder of Internet Security Systems (ISS). He's the closest thing to a 150-lb. Bull Mastiff guarding the Internet that the industry has to offer.

Klaus first ventured into the uncharted frontier of IT security back in 1991 as a high school student working a summer internship at the U.S. Department of Energy in California. During that period, the department fell victim to hackers. That episode triggered a fascination with security.

"I was kind of a nerd," Klaus concedes. "I'd been a big science-fiction reader [and] it turned me on to this vision of cyberspace." One of his favorite books: William Gibson's classic Nueromancer.

After starting at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992, Klaus began developing security programs that would later become Internet Scanner, ISS' flagship product that detects bugs and potential breaches. He released the software on the Internet, received positive feedback and then started a business in 1994. Klaus left school to focus on his company, and ISS eventually became profitable, not to mention one of the top security providers in the industry.

Later, ISS launched a managed-services division to help businesses maintain 24/7 security. It's also focused on emergency- response service and boasts an IT security SWAT team. Klaus sees the security market blossoming in 2001, as hacking and cybercrime concerns become more mainstream.

"[In the past], security was kind of a black art," he says. "This business is on a really fast growth curve."

In addition to his role as CTO, Klaus also plays philanthropist; he recently donated $15 million to Georgia Tech. It was quite a gesture, considering he never finished his studies there.