More than 20 industry and public sector speakers aim to raise government business leaders’ awareness of cyber threats at the 11th Annual Information Technology Security Awareness Fair (ITSAF) in Sacramento on Oct. 2.
The fair will focus on security concerns threatening to disrupt business, why government business officials must be concerned, and how IT professionals can help mitigate those risks. In addition to business leader sessions, there will also be technical educational tracks and trainings for government IT professionals focusing on security within a cloud environment, threat assessments, law enforcement and e-Discovery, and more.
Top speakers include California Technology Agency Secretary Carlos Ramos, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fellow Dr. Ron Ross, and U.S. Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division Director Kelvin Coleman.
Coleman—who also spoke at the event last year—will share the status of information security from a national perspective, highlighting current threats and actions the federal government is taking to protect information. He will also provide steps local government can take to replicate their efforts.
"[Coleman] has a way of really breaking things down so that everything is easy to understand. We want the awareness level to be raised at all agencies, which is why we are having briefings for non-IT executives," said ITSAF speaker Keith Tresh, director and chief information security officer for the California Office of Information Security. The Office of Information Security is hosting the fair alongside Public Sector Partners.
Russ Hicks, Public Sector Partners president, said that another event highlight is the current threat assessment report, which will be given by David Marcus, director of security research for McAfee Labs.
"He’ll be identifying the biggest danger areas right now and what efforts are being made to illegally access or alter government information," Hicks said, noting that they anticipate roughly 500 event attendees. So far, more than 300 government employees have registered for ITSAF.
"I’m excited to see that we have a very strong interest already," added Tresh. "It means that government officials are taking cyber threats very seriously and they see this as an important issue."
Event details:
Location: Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, 1230 J Street in Sacramento
Date: Oct. 2
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Public sector attendance is complimentary; registration is $100 for private sector attendees. To register, visit http://www.pspinfo.us/itsaf2012.
