Long before his days as a security consultant and computer forensic expert at Protus3, Rusty Gilmore
sought to protect and serve the people of North Carolina as an officer with the Raleigh Police Department.
His tenacity for discovering leads and using deductive logic took him from beat cop to detective... with a
stint on the Federal Drug Task Force along the way. But not all his days were spent analyzing fingerprints
and questioning high-profile suspects. “When I was a police officer,” Rusty said, “I would sometimes have to sift through garbage to find evidence. It wasn’t always as glamorous as you see on TV.”
Now, with Protus3, Rusty applies this same in-depth analysis and sleuthing while confronting breaches
in computers and other electronic devices. At the same time, he counsels his clients to be proactive in
protecting their data.
Rusty’s progression from police detective to computer forensic expert was actually rather organic.
His father had worked for IBM, and “since childhood, computers were part of my life as long as I can
remember,” he said. “I took them apart and put them back together and always had the desire to
tinker with them.” After about nine years with the Raleigh Police Department, he decided to open his
own computer business. He did repairs and network upgrades before starting work for the federal
government as an IT security contractor.
Throughout his career, Rusty has consulted on several high-profile and nationally recognized computer and technology misappropriation cases. He’s dealt with data theft, deletion of data, murder cases, hacking cases, wire fraud investigations, and quite a few domestic cases. As an expert, he is highly sought after by attorneys and even consulted with both sides on a local high-profile case. He has also worked with the FBI.
Rusty has a B.S. in Information Technology & Security from Campbell University and an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Wake Technical Community College. Rusty is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information SecurityManager (CISM), and a EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE).
But what really makes Rusty an expert goes beyond his keen ability to make sense of data and keep up with the latest computer technology. “It’s complicated,” he said, “but whether it’s a criminal or civil case, I work to understand what my client is looking for—and I look at the data and provide them with the information they need to move forward.”
Computer forensics has universal relevance and applications. Rusty has given presentations, trainings, and consulting advice to a wide variety of industries, and he would welcome the opportunity to share his expertise and experience. He can speak on a broad spectrum of topics to anyone with a technology- related stake in an entity or who might be at risk of sticky HR situations, malware, employee malfeasance, or other data breaches.