It's always a challenge keeping up with the latest threats to information security, and knowing who the latest and greatest security experts are can be a daunting task as well. Cryptography pro and tell-it-like-it-is commentator Bruce Schneier remains a household name in the top echelons of security, but he's in good company. To bring you up-to-date on who's who in information security, Network World's Ellen Messmer presents 10 of the best.

Keeping a close eye on industrial control systems, independent security researcher Dillon Beresford recently identified some critical vulnerabilities. As Messmer points out, this work hasn't always endeared him to industry, but it's undoubtedly improved the safety of some vital systems.

Independent researcher Dan Kaminsky is one of seven people across the globe who holds a key to "re-start the Internet" if some catastrophic event were to take it down. The key was given to Kaminisky last year by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers after his 2008 discovery of a flaw in the Domain Name System protocol.

Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist at Cryptography Research, discovered timing attack cryptanalysis. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Kocher is a go-to expert for manufacturers worldwide.

Former National Security Agency official Charlie Miller is renowned for deconstructing the iPhone and other Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) devices in the hunt for security flaws. Not shy about demonstrating his hacking aptitude, Miller, now a computer security researcher at Accuvant Labs, is said to be taking an interest in Android devices now as well.

Sherri Sparks made a name for herself figuring out how networks can be compromised by rootkits and in knowing how to ferret them out. President of Clear Hat Consulting, Sparks is taking a closer look at the impact in an increasingly virtualized environment.

Hunting down cyber crooks and their nefarious instruments, Joe Stewart is a champion to financial institutions and other businesses seeking to protect intellectual property. Director of malware research at Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) SecureWorks, Stewart and his team frequently discover problematic programs ahead of the pack.

For more, see:
- Ellen Messmer's slideshow at Network World

Related Articles:
Six new tricks from hackers
Why network security is like a military exercise
How to secure your security budget