Rob Clyde

ob Clyde was introduced to computer security as a teenager working at his father's time-sharing business in Waltham, Mass., in the 1970s.

Customers used terminals and dial-up connections to handle computing tasks and printing via the business. One disgruntled patron printed a less-than-flattering picture of Clyde's father, who told his son to make sure the man couldn't do it again. The young programmer soon realized it was a losing battle due to weaknesses in the operating system, but his curiosity was piqued.

Today, Clyde drives Symantec's integrated security strategy. He joined Symantec in 2000, when the vendor acquired Axent Technologies, which Clyde helped found in 1994. The software company he started in 1980 with his father and brother, Clyde Digital Systems, is credited with creating the first commercial intrusion-detection system.

Symantec's integrated strategy helps enterprises proactively defend themselves, says Chris Ellerman, vice president of professional services at Meridian IT Solutions, a Schaumburg, Ill., solution provider.

For Clyde, IT security is the ultimate challenge: "It's never static, and you're never done. There are always new vulnerabilities and new types of attacks you always have to be on the lookout for."