Howard A. Schmidt is an American computer security specialist. He is President of the Information Security Forum and President and CEO of R & H Security Consulting LLC, which he founded in May 2005.. He is also the international president of the Information Systems Security Association and a board member of the Finnish security company Codenomicon, the American security company Fortify Software, and the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium ((ISC)�), commonly known as (ISC)�. In October 2008 he was named one of the 50 most influential people in business IT by readers and editors of Baseline Magazine.

Schmidt serves on the Executive Committee of the Information Technology Sector Coordination Council. His memberships include the High Technology Crime Investigation Association, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He has testified before congressional committees on computer security and cyber crime and has featured on various worldwide television and radio shows including, BBC, ABC, CNN, CNBC, Fox TV talking about cyber-security, investigations and technology. He is a co-author of The Black Book on Corporate Security and author of Patrolling CyberSpace, Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in Data Security

Schmidt has been appointed to the Information Security Privacy Advisory Board to advise the National Institute of Standards and Technology the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on information security and privacy issues pertaining to federal government information systems.