‘What IF our future was more secure?’ Leading cybersecurity experts to speak at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Government, industry, schools, banks, health care organizations, powerplants … who doesn’t have to worry about cybersecurity threats?

Experts gathering at Purdue University will tackle the possiblitities of a future without cybersecurity threats, as well as cybersecurity related to the sustainability of the economy and constantly emerging health concerns.

“What IF Our Future Was More Secure?” is the title of this year’s security symposium coordinated by Purdue’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). The event will be held April 9 and 10 in the Stewart Center. It is open to the public, but registration is required.

The event is a part of Purdue University’s Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign, which is a series of events that connect world-renowned speakers and Purdue expertise in a conversation on the most critical problems facing the world.

Panel discussions during the symposium will take on each of the Ideas Festival’s Giant Leaps themes in Space: Earth, Exploration, Economics; Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Automations: Balancing Humanity and Technology; Health, Longevity and Quality of Life; and Toward a Sustainable Economy and Planet.

Ray Rothrock, chairman and CEO of RedSeal Inc., will kick off the event with the first keynote address titled “Digital Resilience: Is Your Organization Ready for the Next Cyber Threat?”

Rothrock joined RedSeal as CEO in February 2014. A leader in cybersecurity and longtime investor in the sector, he was a participant in the White House CyberSecurity Summit held at Stanford University in February 2015.

Chris Inglis is the second keynote speaker scheduled for the event. The former deputy director of the National Security Agency and retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general currently is serving as the Looker Distinguished Visiting Professor of Cyber Studies at the United States Naval Academy.

Discussions will wrap up on April 10 with a final address by Jim Routh, chief security officer of CVS Health.

In addition to the keynote speakers, there also will be panel discussions, technical talks by Purdue research faculty and industry leaders, and a poster session highlighting more than 50 of the current cyber/cyber-physical security projects being conducted at Purdue.

Attendees consist of academic, industry, government and military representatives who are interested in learning new and innovative ways to secure our future. The symposium also will feature a student poster session with 60 student research projects on display.

A complete event agenda and registration information may be found at www.cerias.purdue.edu/symposium.

CERIAS is the oldest, largest and top-ranked interdisciplinary academic research institute addressing cyber and cyber-physical systems. More than 100 Purdue faculty are affiliated with the center and conduct research in cyber/cyber-physical security, assurance, privacy, resiliency, autonomy and artificial intelligence. CERIAS is part of Purdue’s Discovery Park.

Writer: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Source: Joel Rasmus, 765-494-7806, jrasmus@purdue.edu