Findlay, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2004 – Richard Hite, the man who helped develop the technology that made credit and debit card transactions secure will speak at The University of Findlay on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 11:10 a.m. in the Winebrenner Theological Seminary Auditorium.

Hite, retired senior vice president of emerging technologies for Visa International, is presenting as part of the University’s third annual Information Assurance Forum titled “The Changing Landscape of Information Security.”

Hite will be presenting “How Much Security Do you Need? – A five step process for your business to analyze and evaluate security systems,” to area business leaders, community members and university faculty, staff and students.

Raised in Findlay and a 1968 UF graduate, he specializes in cryptography, which entails the process of being able to encode and decode information to maintain confidentiality. Involved in the International Standards Organizations (ISO), Hite chaired the group responsible for cryptographic security and retail banking. His committee wrote the global standards for cryptographic security, which required compliance by banks around the world. Hite also served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton regarding U.S. export policies for cryptographic technologies.

Hite is credited with developing a security program for Visa International to protect debit cardholders’ Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) at the point of sale.

The forum is being sponsored by UF’s Center for Information Assurance Education and the Area of Technology Management.

For more information, contact Betty Davidson in the Area of Technology Management, at 419-434-4637, or Rebecca Shell, public relations officer, at 419-434-4345.