Mark Ballister

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Mark Ballister is Associate Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) with enterprise responsibilities for the University of Rochester and its entities, including the Medical Center and its affiliates.  Areas of responsibility include security operations – data and network security, incident response and vulnerability management, systems management and threat management – business continuity and risk management, and identity and access management.

Prior to the University of Rochester, Mark was the Security Intelligence and Response Manager for Paychex, Inc., leading a team of 60+ professionals responsible for cybersecurity intelligence, physical security, secure data transfer, identity management, and security incident response. In this role, he was responsible for creating tactical and strategic security plans for the enterprise consisting of nearly 13,000 employees and 500,000 clients worldwide.

Mark has achieved several industry certifications, most notably the Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), GIAC Certified Firewall Analyst, Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) and the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) board Certified Protection Professional (CPP®) designation.  He is a member of several security organizations including ISC2, ASIS, and ISACA. Mark was a board member of the FBI Rochester InfraGard Chapter responsible for bringing quality security training and education to the Rochester region to help broaden the profession and increase the opportunity for local career advancement.

Mark is a US Army veteran serving four campaigns in Desert Storm and holds a baccalaureate degree from SUNY Brockport with a concentration in finance.