Let's talk credentials — and the years behind them

About Brian Harper

30 years in IT and data security. A decade-plus in AI security specifically. AIGP and CISSP certified. Still doing the work, not just teaching it from a slide.

The short version

Brian Harper has spent 30 years in IT and data security — 20 of them as CIO at the American College of Surgeons, 10 of those also carrying the CISO title — and has been working on AI security specifically for more than a decade, years before ChatGPT made the term familiar to anyone outside a research lab.

He founded Stella Blue Networks, his AI security consultancy, while still at the College, and has led it as CEO for the past 6 years. He was an official data security trainer for the FBI, and later took his training on the road across seven countries — training accounting firms from Kuwait to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

He now holds the AIGP (AI Governance Professional) certification from the IAPP and is CISSP certified — pairing decades of hands-on security practice with the credentials that let him speak both languages: the engineer's and the board's.

He is a frequent keynote speaker on AI security, and delivers training both in person and live online from Ireland and Portugal.

30years IT & security
20years CIO
10years CISO
10+years AI security
6years leading Stella Blue Networks
7countries trained

Why Us

Security first, not compliance first

Most AI training today comes from privacy/legal firms teaching the EU AI Act, or IT platforms selling course catalogs. Very few come from someone who actually built and defended AI systems before the current wave of interest existed. That's the gap this training fills.

AI security experience that predates the hype

10+ years of hands-on AI security work — starting before ChatGPT existed, when almost nobody was thinking about it yet. What you're learning isn't reheated from this year's headlines.

The only trainer in this space who's also AIGP-certified

That combination means the governance module isn't bolted on — it's taught by someone who holds the credential and has done the security work it governs.

Confirm before publishing — verified as accurate as far as researched, not independently audited.

Trained the FBI. Toured internationally.

An official data security trainer for the FBI, with a seven-country international training tour under his belt — Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and beyond. This isn't a first-time trainer figuring out the material live.

Built to travel

Every course in this catalog is designed to be delivered live and in person — on-site at your organization or at a public class near you. No canned webinar.

Founder credibility

Built and has run Stella Blue Networks, his own security consultancy, for the past 6 years — launched while still holding down the CIO/CISO role at the College. Not just an employee history, an entrepreneurial one.

AIGP · CISSP 30 years IT & security FBI-trained 7-country training tour Founder, Stella Blue Networks