KNOXVILLE — “Emerging Cyber Threats” will be the theme of the region’s second Cyber Security Summit on Oct. 23-24.
The summit is being sponsored by the University of Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority and its Inspector General’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fountainhead College of Technology.
The event, to be held at the UT Conference Center, 600 Henley St., will bring together computer and technology security experts from private industry, government and higher education to share information about computer network crimes. Anyone with an interest in computer-related law enforcement and security issues should attend.
“We read almost daily about cyber attacks on government, business and educational institutions,” said Brice Bible, UT assistant vice president for information technology and interim chief information officer. “The technological resources and information we depend upon to run our organizations are also attractive resources to cyber criminals.”
Bible said higher education, government and private industry have both desire and an obligation to help law enforcement fight this type of crime.
“In today’s networked world, we’re all positioned to spot cyber crime, so we as educators, businesspeople and government employees all benefit by working with law enforcement.
This includes helping the public learn more about the dangers of cyber crime.”
Among the experts who will speak at the summit:
• Dr. Terry Gudaitis, a cyber crime profiler. She is director of incident response services and open source monitoring services for Science Applications International Corp. Her departments investigate hacking incidents, ID theft, cyber stalking and other Internet-related crimes.
• Gary Kessler, an expert in computer forensics. He is associate professor and director of the Computer & Digital Forensics, Computer Networking, Information Security programs and the Center for Digital Investigation at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt.
• William Maconachy, an expert in cryptologic computer science research. He is deputy senior science authority with the National Security Agency.
• Dr. Phyllis Schneck, a security and infrastructure protection expert. She is vice president of research integration at CipherTrust Inc.
• Bob Kuykendall, an expert on identity theft. He works for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Randy Marchany, a computer incident response expert and director of Virginia Tech Computer IT Security Testing Laboratory.
• Ronald E. Plesco Jr., an expert on hacking countermeasures and an information security attorney.
Beth O’Brien, who supervises the white collar crime investigations for the FBI’s Knoxville office, said the FBI has directed its hiring efforts nationally toward individuals with cyber expertise.
Knoxville FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard L. Lambert said cyber crime investigations are the FBI’s third investigative priority. More than 1,000 special agents are partnered with federal, state and local agencies forming 93 cyber task forces and 62 working groups across the nation.
TVA Inspector General Richard Moore said cyber security is vital, both for businesses and individuals.
“It is imperative that we stay on the cutting edge of developments to ensure our continued protection. Summits such as this one will help us learn from each other in this ongoing effort,” he said.
Also a summit sponsor, Fountainhead College of Technology, is a locally owned and operated private college that has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. It is the first college in the southeast to offer a computer security-focused baccalaureate degree.
“Fountainhead not only provides high level cyber security training for its students, it serves as an information security resource for law enforcement, government agencies and information technology professionals,” said Tammy Alexander, program coordinator for the college’s Center for Information Assurance & Cyber Security Training (IACT). “Part of the core mission of Fountainhead’s IACT center is to reach out and partner with other organizations interested in cyber security, and we are pleased to be a part of this year’s Cyber Security Summit.
Cost of attending the conference is $75, which includes breakfast and lunch both days. Registration will be open until all 200 slots have been filled.
Conference information and registration is available on-line at http://cybersecurity.utk.edu.
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Contacts:
Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu
James Perry, (865) 974-3592, jperry1@utk.edu