New York State Cyber Security Conference Opens June 7

ALBANY, NY (06/02/2011)(readMedia)-- Cyber security professionals from around the State and throughout the Northeast will be gathered in Albany on June 7-8 at the Empire State Plaza to participate in the 14th Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference and 6th Annual Academic Symposium.

The two-day conference, which drew more than 1,000 participants last year, is recognized as the premier Northeast conference on cyber security. The conference is co-hosted by the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' Office of Cyber Security (OCS), The New York State Forum, Inc. and the University at Albany's School of Business and College of Computing and Information.

"Education and awareness, in government, the private sector, and the community at large, are essential to addressing constantly evolving and increasing threats to the security of our information," said Thomas D. Smith, OCS Director. "This conference provides an important forum for individuals representing a broad range of disciplines to hear industry experts discuss the strategies and best practices on which effective cyber security is based."

The conference begins with a keynote by Roberta Stempfley, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Director of its National Cyber Security Division, where she is responsible for spearheading collaboration between DHS and the private sector. This includes deploying a cyber-risk management program and building a national response system.

Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at Tuesday's afternoon session which will include a presentation by Lt. Gen. Harry D. Raduege Jr., Chairman, Deloitte Center for Cyber Innovation, followed by a Cyber Summit to discuss public-private partnerships and awareness activities.

This year's theme, "Stop.Think.Connect," reflects DHS's national public awareness campaign aimed at guiding the nation to a higher level of Internet safety by challenging the public to be more vigilant about practicing good "cyber hygiene."

New York State has partnered with DHS to raise awareness and to communicate new approaches and strategies to help Americans increase their security online. Stop. Think. Connect. encourages Americans to see Internet safety as a shared responsibility – at home, in the workplace, and in our communities –and demonstrates that shared responsibility by bringing together a coalition of federal, state and local government, as well as private sector partners.

"With so much of our society and economy on-line, the conference is a terrific opportunity to get high-quality information about keeping ourselves and our information safe. The University at Albany is pleased to partner with New York State and The NYS Forum in bringing together a strong group of professionals and academic researchers to focus on the important topic of cyber security," said Peter A. Bloniarz, Dean for the College of Computing and Information at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

"We are pleased to once again to co-host the Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference," said Deborah Buck, Executive Director of The New York State Forum, Inc. "The Conference, with its nationally-recognized speakers from both the public and private sectors and broad range of seminars, is a natural extension of The Forum's ongoing efforts to facilitate exchange of knowledge among government and corporate professionals in support of New York's technology program priorities."

A number of industry experts will address conference attendees, including Ted Demopoulos, SANS Institute; and Kimberly Kiefer Peretti, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers. The conference also offers 30 training sessions designed for a broad audience. Topics include protecting information; cloud security; business assessment; mobile device security; forensics; legal issues; and more.

The 6th Annual Academic Symposium on Information Assurance runs concurrently with the main Conference and presents academic papers on information security topics by academic experts. On June 8, Dr. Diane T. Hooie, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, will provide the keynote entitled, "Working to Achieve Cybersecurity in the Energy Sector: A Public-Private Partnership Approach."

Tuesday afternoon's Cyber Summit will include sessions on "Cyber Security Education and Awareness: How to Stay Safe Online" and "Our Shared Responsibility Protecting Your Community through Public/Private Sector Partnerships."

For more information, including conference and vendor registration, visit the OCS website at: http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ocs/awareness-training-events/conference/2011/.

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