If you're in any way involved in the security industry in South Africa, chances are you've run into Ian Melamed. His involvement with anti-virus technology, information security, the law and training has exposed him to a wide section of the community.

Many years ago, when a publication I worked for picked up a virus on a test machine, we turned to Melamed for advice on cleaning it up. The job took him five minutes; the lecture he gave us on backups took 45 minutes. We learned our lesson. Melamed is still lecturing – he lectures the Department of Defence on standards and auditing. But who is he really?