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DHS, FBI and DOJ Data Hacks Could Have Been Avoided, says Cybersecurity Expert and Consultant Edgar Perez

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Edgar Perez, author of Knightmare on Wall Street and The Speed Traders, is presenting the 3-Day Masterclass in Cybersecurity, workshop targeted at board members and senior executives looking for new ways to gain and maintain competitive business advantage in one of the most critical subjects for corporations and governments worldwide.

New York City, NY, USA (February 13, 2016) — The recent hacker attack that compromised information from some 20,000 people employed by the Department of Justice, including Federal Bureau of Investigation officials, and another 9,000 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could have been prevented, said Edgar Perez, author of Knightmare on Wall Street and The Speed Traders, and presenter of the 3-Day Masterclass in Cybersecurity.

According to technology news site Motherboard, the hacker had used spear phishing and simple human engineering to bypass one stage of the authorities’ security systems. Motherboard quoted the hacker, who explained: “So I called up, told them I was new and I didn’t understand how to get past [the portal]. They asked if I had a token code, I said no, they said that’s fine – just use our one.”

Mr. Perez, author, business consultant for private equity and hedge funds and Council Member at the Gerson Lehrman Group, took issue with the relatively ease with which hackers gained access to the organizations in charge of protecting the security of millions of Americans. “It is beyond my understanding how personnel of the Department of Homeland Security didn’t take steps to verify an anonymous request from an alleged new employee. Furthermore, they provided the pseudo employee with a token code no questions asked. What this reveals is a dramatic lack of awareness of the very cyber risks the agency is tasked with fighting against.”

This recent incident comes after a June data theft from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that exposed the deeply researched security clearances of 21.5m current and former government employees and contractors, from phone numbers to fingerprints.

ABOUT 3-DAY MASTERCLASS IN CYBERSECURITY
As Internet usage becomes increasingly widespread and information technology ever more complex, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly important and business-critical field. Are you and your organization effectively prepared to handle cybersecurity threats? Do you know how to identify threats and address challenges, and how to apply a cybersecurity framework?

The *brand-new* 3 Day Masterclass in Cybersecurity is designed for all C-level executives and senior managers looking for a comprehensive overview of the field, as well as specialists in data security, information technology and software development.

ABOUT KNIGHTMARE ON WALL STREET
Knightmare on Wall Street, The Rise and Fall of Knight Capital and the Biggest Risk for Financial Markets is a thrilling minute-by-minute account of the terrifying hours following Knight Capital’s August 1, 2012 trading debacle, with news-breaking research regarding the firm’s 17 years of tumultuous existence as an independent company. Knightmare on Wall Street is the definitive behind-the-scenes story of Knight Capital.

Knight Capital announced a staggering loss of $440 million. What followed after this shocking announcement were several rounds of desperate conversations with a number of vulture players who had smelled opportunity and were readying themselves to pick up bargain-priced pieces. On August 6, 2012, Joyce confirmed that Knight Capital had struck a deal with Jefferies, TD Ameritrade, Blackstone, GETCO, Stephens, and Stifel Financial, staving off collapse days after the trading mishap.

Knightmare on Wall Street provides a fascinating account of what it took to elevate the firm to the cusp of the retail investing revolution of the late 1990s, to struggle through booms and busts, and to bring the firm down, to end up ultimately being ignominiously bought up by a competitor.

ABOUT THE SPEED TRADERS
High-frequency traders have been called many things-from masters of the universe and market pioneers to exploiters, computer geeks, and even predators. Everyone in the business of investing has an opinion of speed traders, but how many really understand how they operate? The shadow people of the investing world, today’s high-frequency traders have decidedly kept a low profile-until now. In this new title, The Speed Traders, Mr. Perez opens the door to the secretive world of high-frequency trading (HFT). Inside, prominent figures of HFT drop their guard and speak with unprecedented candidness about their trade.

Mr. Perez begins with an overview of computerized trading, which formally began on February 8, 1971, when NASDAQ launched the world’s first electronic market with 2,500 over-the-counter stocks and which has evolved into the present-day practice of making multiple trades in a matter of microseconds. He then picks the brains of today’s top players. Manoj Narang (Tradeworx), John Netto (M3 Capital), and Aaron Lebovitz (Infinium Capital Management) are just a few of the luminaries who decided to break their silence and speak openly to Mr. Perez. Virtually all of the expertise available from the world of speed trading is packed into these pages.

The Speed Traders, published by McGraw-Hill Inc., is the most comprehensive, revealing work available on the most important development in trading in generations. High-frequency trading will no doubt play an ever larger role as computer technology advances and the global exchanges embrace fast electronic access. The Speed Traders explains everything there is to know about how today’s high-frequency traders make millions-one cent at a time.

ABOUT EDGAR PEREZ
Mr. Perez is the author of Knightmare on Wall Street, The Rise and Fall of Knight Capital and the Biggest Risk for Financial Markets (2013), and The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, published in English by McGraw-Hill Inc. (2011), Published in Mandarin by China Financial Publishing House (2012), and Investasi Super Kilat, published in Bahasa Indonesia by Kompas Gramedia (2012).

Mr. Perez has been interviewed on CNN’s Quest Means Business, CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Worldwide Exchange, Cash Flow and Squawk Box, FOX BUSINESS’s Countdown to the Closing Bell and After the Bell, Bloomberg TV’s Market Makers, CNN en Español’s Dinero, Sina Finance, BNN’s Business Day, CCTV China, News.Sina.com, ifeng.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, The Malaysian Insider, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, Bankier.pl, TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia’s Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Mr. Perez has been featured on Sohu, The Wall Street Journal, Yicai, eastmoney, Caijing, ETF88.com, 360doc, AH Radio, CNFOL.com, CITICS Futures, Tongxin Securities, ZhiCheng.com, CBNweek.com, Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Mr. Perez has presented at a number of global conferences, including Cyber Security World Conference (New York), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Inside Market Data 2013 (Chicago), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), Emerging Markets Investments Summit 2013 (Warsaw), CME Group’s Global Financial Leadership Conference (Naples Beach, FL), Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston0 High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Additionally, Mr. Perez has been engaged to present to the Council on Foreign Relations, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University (Kiev), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), Quant Investment & HFT Summit APAC 2012 (Shanghai), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions.

Mr. Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Previously, he managed Operations and Technology for Peruval Finance. Mr. Perez has an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Mr. Perez resides in the New York City area with his wife Olga, son Edgar Felipe and daughter Svetlana Sofia.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
+1-414-FORUMS0
jpetrova@thespeedtraders.com

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Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015 to Bring Critical Cyber Security Lessons for Boards and CEOs

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Building off of the momentum of past successful workshops, Golden Networking brings Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015 (http://www.CybersecurityBoardroomWorkshop.com), seminar specifically designed for board members and senior executives of public and private firms looking for new ways to gain and maintain competitive business advantage.

New York, NY, USA (January 20, 2015) — In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013, malware designed to steal credit card data at Target was surreptitiously installed. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the company had installed a malware detection tool. Target had specialists in Bangalore to monitor its computers around the clock. Two days after Thanksgiving, the malware was spotted. The team in India got an alert and flagged Target’s security managers. And then?

Nothing happened. Target’s alert system had worked effectively. But then, Target stood by as 40 million credit card numbers flowed out of its computers. Only a few months later, CEO Gregg Steinhafel and CIO Beth Jacob were both out of the company.

Cybersecurity has become widely recognized as a critical corporate challenge. Boards and senior managements are putting it on their agenda, categorizing cybersecurity not as a compartmentalized risk for the information technology team, but as strategic and enterprise-wide.

However, a security program is only as strong as its weakest link. While a survey by the Institute of Internal Auditors found 58% of board members felt they should be actively involved in cybersecurity preparedness, only 14% said they were actively involved. Unfortunately, 65% also said their perception of the risk their organizations faced had increased.

Board members and senior managers need to become more educated about the topic to be able to ask questions that are strategic yet granular enough to address company-specifics. To go further, it will be imperative to join Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015 (http://www.CybersecurityBoardroomWorkshop.com), the first seminar targeted at strategic and executive leaders for whom cybersecurity readiness is a relatively new yet critically important area to be intelligently conversant about.

Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015 is specifically designed for board members and senior executives of public and private firms looking for new ways to gain and maintain competitive business advantage. Business executives with responsibility for IT, finance, compliance, risk management and procurement as well as entrepreneurs and innovators are welcome.

By the end of Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015, to be held in Dubai, March 8-9, Hong Kong, March 12-13, Seoul, March 19-20, Singapore, March 26-27, London, 9-10 April, and New York City, April 16-17, participants will:

• Understand enterprise cybersecurity and the impact on shareholder value in the short and long term
• Identify immediate security needs for the organization with actionable steps for senior management
• Learn how to identify current and future challenges to better enable management to focus on threat reduction and operational reliability
• Get up to speed on international and domestic approaches and frameworks for effective cybersecurity practices corporate wide

DAY 1: UNDERSTANDING THE CYBER WORLD

Understanding Cybersecurity
• The trillion dollar global cyber risk environment
• The enterprise-wide challenge of protecting the organization’s assets
• The impact of cybersecurity attacks on shareholder value
• Identity theft and the legal implications of data breaches

Social Engineering: The “Weakest Human Link” in Cybersecurity
• The responsibility for cybersecurity in the organization
• Assessing the quality of the cybersecurity workforce
• Evaluating shortcomings in meeting cybersecurity workforce standards
• Assessing the effectiveness of current professionalization tools

Understanding the Cybersecurity Testing Method
• Reconnaissance: How to use tools to find vulnerable systems and devices
• Packet sniffing: How to gather information from computer systems
• Port scanning: How port information is exposed on computer systems
• Password policy and cracking: What to consider when developing password policy
• Vulnerability: How to reduce attacks by enforcing proactive compliance policies

Basics of Security Architecture for Board Members and CXOs
• How architecture defines the structure of a system and makes it explicit
• The fundamentals of layered architecture: presentation, business, data, and service layers
• How the current computer network infrastructure was not designed originally to be secure
• Embedding architecting security into systems from inception

DAY 2: RESPONDING TO THE CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGE

Introduction to NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework
• Describing the enterprise’s current and target cybersecurity posture
• Identifying and prioritizing opportunities for improvement
• Assessing and accelerating progress toward the target state
• Communicating with internal and external stakeholders about cybersecurity risk

The Five Core Functions of NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework
• Identify: Organizational understanding to manage cybersecurity risk
• Protect: Safeguards to ensure delivery of critical infrastructure services
• Detect: How to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event
• Respond: Taking action regarding a detected cybersecurity event
• Recover: Maintaining plans for resilience and to restore any impaired capabilities

Introduction to Intelligence-driven Cyber Network Defenses
• How investigations are based upon the scientific method: observing, hypothesis, evaluation, prediction and validation
• How to leverage cutting edge technology, vigilant people and innovative processes
• How to continuously improve the enterprise process for defending IT assets
• How to empower people to resolve the problem with guidance and mentoring

Establishing or Improving a Cybersecurity Program
• Prioritize and scope: Identifying business/mission objectives and high-level priorities
• Orient: Identifying related systems and assets, regulatory requirements, and risk approach
• Create a current profile: Developing a profile by indicating current degree of preparedness
• Conduct a risk assessment: Analyzing the operational environment in order to discern the likelihood of an attack
• Create a target profile: Describing the organization’s desired cybersecurity outcomes
• Determine, analyze, and prioritize gaps: Determining gaps between current and target profiles
• Implement action plan: Deciding which actions to take in regards to identified gaps

Cybersecurity Boardroom Workshop 2015 is produced by Golden Networking, the premier networking community for business and technology executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to information@goldennetworking.com.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
Golden Networking
+1-414-FORUMS0
jpetrova@goldennetworking.com
http://www.goldennetworking.com

Business

What Investors can Learn from Morgan Stanley’s Data Breach with Edgar Perez at Cyber Security World Conference 2015 New York City

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Building off of the momentum of past successful conferences, Golden Networking brings Cyber Security World Conference 2015 New York City (http://www.CyberSecurityWorldConference.com), summit that will bring the latest thinking from security experts to hundreds of senior executives focused on protecting enterprises’ information assets.

New York, NY, USA (January 8, 2015) — Morgan Stanley joined a growing list of prominent corporate brands to suffer a data breach, after it revealed one of his financial advisors stole the information of as many as 350,000 wealth management clients, and that some of the data was posted online for sale. The event reminds consumers and investors of the ever-evolving and ubiquitous threat of data breaches.

Many other large companies including Adobe Systems, Automated Data Processing, Citigroup, E*Trade Financial, Fidelity Investments, Home Depot, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Nasdaq OMX, Neiman Marcus, Sony, Target and Wal-mart had suffered high-profile cyber security breaches. It is not beyond the realm of possibilities to think that today the information of every American has already been compromised in any of these publicly disclosed attacks.

Amidst these pressing challenges, Edgar Perez, author of Knightmare on Wall Street, will discuss what consumers and investors can learn from recent cybersecurity incidents in the United States at Cyber Security World Conference 2015 (http://www.CyberSecurityWorldConference.com) New York City. The forum will provide a platform for information security authorities and innovative service providers to distil their latest research for hundreds of senior executives focused on protecting enterprise and government valuable assets. Cyber security experts will discuss subjects such as protecting individuals and companies against cyber-attacks, biometrics as the future of security, risks brought by mobile computing, and protecting corporate and national infrastructure against foreign attacks.

Mr. Perez has been engaged to present at the Council on Foreign Relations, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University (Kiev), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), Quant Investment & HFT Summit APAC 2012 (Shanghai), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (London and Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions.

Mr. Perez is widely regarded as the preeminent global expert in technology and investing. He is the author of Knightmare on Wall Street and The Speed Traders and has been interviewed on CNN, CNBC, FOX BUSINESS, Bloomberg TV, CNN en Español, CCTV China, BNN, Bankier.pl, Leaderonomics, TheStreet.com, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia’s Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. Mr. Perez has been globally featured on FXFactor, Columbia Business, OpenMarkets, Sohu, News.Sina.com, Yicai, eastmoney, Caijing, ETF88.com, 360doc, AH Radio, CNFOL.com, CITICS Futures, Tongxin Securities, ZhiCheng.com, CBNweek.com, Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International Finance News, hexun.com, Finance.QQ.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, The Malaysian Insider, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Mr. Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York City. Mr. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School in New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Mr. Perez resides in the New York City area and is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer.

About Cyber Security World Conference 2015
Renowned information security experts and innovative service providers will present at Cyber Security World Conference 2015 their latest thinking to hundreds of senior executives focused on protecting enterprises and governmental agencies. Topics that Cyber Security World Conference 2015 will discuss include:

• Cyber Security Megatrends Security Professionals can’t Ignore Today
• Strengthening the Security of Industry-wide Technology Infrastructure
• How Hackers Really Operate to Obtain Financial Data
• Cyber Security and its Role in the Overall Security of the United States
• Key Considerations about Security in the Internet of Things Age
• Designing and Managing Effective Information Security Programs

Cyber Security World Conference 2015 is produced by Golden Networking, the premier networking community for business and technology executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to information@goldennetworking.com.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
Golden Networking
+1-414-FORUMS0
jpetrova@goldennetworking.com
http://www.goldennetworking.com

Business

Google’s Top-ranked Cyber Security Conference to Bring Key Insights for CISOs Facing Cyber Threats

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Building off of the momentum of past successful conferences, Golden Networking brings Cyber Security World Conference 2014 New York City (www.CyberSecurityWorldConference.com), forum that will bring the latest thinking from security experts to hundreds of senior executives focused on protecting enterprises’ information assets.

New York, NY, USA (November 18, 2014) — When pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong in September, cyber attacks aimed at compromising protesters’ mobile phones soon followed. Spread through links in pro-Hong Kong e-mail messages, the mobile remote access tool (mRAT) gave the group behind the attack, the most obvious suspect being the Chinese government, almost total access to the device and its data. Two weeks later, similar espionage attacks were found hidden on compromised websites of organizations supporting the democratic movement.

The attack on Hong Kong citizens underscores the degree to which governments have taken to programs typically associated with hackers and cybercriminals. In fact, our reliance on these technologies has left us open to a variety of threats, says the Georgia Institute of Technology. Cybercriminals continue to compromise users’ computers and are increasingly turning their attention to mobile devices. In addition, online thieves have aimed their tools at larger prey, resulting in a string of large data breaches at well-known companies, such as Target, Home Depot, and JPMorgan Chase.

Indeed, J.P. Morgan Chase, America’s largest bank with $2.39 trillion in assets, announced a few months ago that about 76 million households and 7 million of small-business customers had been affected by a cybersecurity attack in one of the most sweeping disclosed global breaches. The bank said the unknown attackers stole customers’ contact information, which included names, email addresses, phone numbers and addresses, affected an amount equivalent to two-thirds of American households.

A brief walk down memory lane of some the biggest recent cyber-attacks now include Adobe Systems, Automated Data Processing, Citigroup, E*Trade Financial, Fidelity Investments, Home Depot, HSBC, Nasdaq OMX, Neiman Marcus, Target and Wal-mart. It is not unlikely to consider that the information of every American has already been compromised in any of these publicly disclosed attacks.

Cyber security is therefore no longer a term to ignore for neither individuals nor corporations. The daily activities of all Americans, the country’s economic prominence and global security rely on a safe and resilient cyberspace. Yet the number of cyber-attacks has increased dramatically over the last years, exposing confidential personal and business data, disrupting critical operations, and imposing high costs on the economy overall.

Golden Networking’s Cyber Security World Conference 2014 New York City (http://www.CyberSecurityWorldConference.com) will provide a platform for information security authorities and innovative service providers to distil their latest thinking for hundreds of senior executives focused on protecting today’s enterprises. Cyber security experts will discuss topics such as protecting individuals and companies against cyber-attacks, biometrics as the future of security, risks brought by mobile computing, and protecting corporate and national infrastructure against foreign attacks.

Topics that Cyber Security World Conference 2014 will discuss include:

• Cyber Security Megatrends Security Professionals can’t Ignore Today
• Designing and Managing Effective Information Security Programs
• How Hackers Really Operate to Obtain Financial Data
• Key Considerations about Security in the Internet of Things Age
• Strengthening the Security of Industry-wide Technology Infrastructure
• Cyber Security and its Role in the Overall Security of the United States

Cyber Security World Conference 2014 is produced by Golden Networking (http://www.goldennetworking.com), the premier networking community for business and technology executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to information@goldennetworking.com.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
Golden Networking
+1-414-FORUMS0
jpetrova@goldennetworking.com
http://www.goldennetworking.com

Art, Entertainment, Media, Society

Murder! Corruption! Greed! Betrayal! Sex! New Fictional Crime Novel Explodes With Excitement For Readers

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Get ready as this suspenseful thriller about a trio of Chicago and Kansas City crimes bosses and an FBI Special Agent takes you on one serious rollercoaster ride. Carmine and Michael Bernazzoli of the Chicago Outfit has consolidated power with Thomas Galluccio of the Kansas City Outfit for many years. Their ability to make money, exercise power, and minimize bloodshed within the multi-billion dollar unions of the Teamsters has always been their clear objectives.

A new threat has arisen. That very threat is FBI Special Agent Wilfredo Feliciano. The Bernazzoli Brothers and Galluccio always believed that everybody had a price, that is, until Feliciano came onto the scene. Feliciano has been christened to investigate the unholy alliance between the Teamsters and powerful organized crime figures. The Chicago and Kansas City Mafia outfits are aware of how their notorious crime families will feel the hot breath of the U. S. Government closing in if Feliciano gathers all of his important data.

Money and power proves how the most precious jewel in their crown is the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters. As a last desperate measure, a band of bloodthirsty contract killers have been sanctioned by the Bernazzoli Brothers and Galluccio to take out Agent Feliciano. Will the three crime lords make their move on Feliciano before it’s too late? Fasten your seatbelts since this supremely fascinating tale of greed, power, corruption, betrayal, and sex goes where the shadows of a violent death lurks deep in the dark inner sanctums.

About The Author
D. B. Reynolds is an author, screenwriter, computer expert, and a chartered member of The Writer’s Place and The Writer’s Lab. In 2002, he was a guest on the former nationally-syndicated daytime talk show, “The Sally Jessy Raphael Show”, to talk about his horrific experience in a particular foster home. He currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

CreateSpace is premier book publisher for the novel Network of Killers, which is also available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook. For more information about author D. B. Reynolds and this novel, please visit his website at www.d-b-reynolds.com.

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