U of M Center for Information Assurance Hosts Government Cyber Security Summit

For release: April 24, 2008
For press information, contact Shaye Mandle at (901) 678-1592

Cyber Security experts from government, industry and academia came together at the FedEx Institute of Technology on the campus of the University of Memphis to discuss a range of cyber security issues and compare best practices. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Program Manager announced the availability of its sponsored cyber-security training program, ACT Online. The ACT Online courseware was developed by the University of Memphis CfIA, in partnership with Vanderbilt University and SPARTA, Inc. for information system professionals and law enforcement officers’ cyber security training.

CFIA Director, Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta, was joined by Barry Bratburd (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Mike Zelnik (Tennessee Office of Homeland Security), Dave Lannom (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), and Maureen Baginski (SPARTA, Inc.). Dr. Shirley Raines, University of Memphis President, opened the summit with a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the official release of the CfIA Cyber Security Laboratory.

“Today, the University of Memphis is proud to bring together senior experts from government, industry and academia to share information, collaborate on best practices and improve the security and health of our nation’s information systems,” said Dr. Raines. “The University of Memphis’ Center for Information Assurance is playing a critical role in advancing our nation’s expertise and training in information assurance and cyber security and we’re proud to have been a key contributor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s ACT Online.”

Dr. Dasgupta closed the day’s summit.  “Information assurance and cyber security is critical to each and every one of us. Our government, our businesses and our citizens face very real threats every day. Today’s summit demonstrates the benefits of collaboration and how government, industry and academia can work together to secure our information systems and effectively train to stay at the forefront of new threats.”

The Cyber Security Summit was attended by more than 100 government, law enforcement, industry and academic experts. For more information on the University of Memphis’ Center for Information Assurance, please visit http://cfia.memphis.edu/home/