LOS ANGELES – The United States Attorney’s Office is hosting a Cyber Security Summit at the USC Radisson Hotel today in Los Angeles. The event, which is part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, is being held in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the University of Southern California, the Lares Institute, and the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance.
Top officials from utilities/critical infrastructure, local government, banking, the motion picture industry, the software industry, universities and law enforcement are attending the Summit. The Summit is offering information on new and developing cyber threats, preventing cyber attacks, and recognizing and remediating attacks when they occur. Attendees are participating in “table top” exercises in which participants analyze a cyber attack, reflect on preparedness, and discuss the benefits of sharing data with law enforcement.
“Reports of hacking and cyber intrusions have become an everyday occurrence. Many in the cyber security arena believe there are two kinds of companies – those that have been the victims of computer intrusions, and those who don’t know they have been victims,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “The Cyber Security Summit brings together the public, private, and non-profit sectors, to include officials from every level of government, academic and consultant experts, corporate general counsel, and chief information security officers. Our goal is to share information, foster relationships, and protect American business interests from both domestic and foreign threats.”
The Summit features speakers that include United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker and USC Chief Counsel Carol Mauch Amir. The FBI is providing a current threat briefing to the attendees to inform them of the most recent types of cyber attacks and defenses to those types of attacks. The perspective of the business community is represented by executives from Ernst & Young, Target Corporation, IBM and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“Cyber security is a shared responsibility among the public and private sectors, as well as an individual responsibility for all of us who use Internet-connected devices,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Field Office. “As organizations, large and small, contend with cyber intrusions, ransomware, e-mail compromise schemes and myriad cyber challenges to their security, this summit will afford both government and private business stakeholders an opportunity to meet in person to discuss our collective cyber security needs.”
“This event is a valuable opportunity for information security professionals in the public and private sectors to openly discuss methods of planning for and responding to cyber incidents in a non-crisis setting,” said Matthew LaVigna, Director of Operations and CEO for the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance. “Neither private industry nor the government should be expected to address this threat alone. Events like this will help to establish trusted relationships and lead to future collaborative efforts.”
