Brian Digman, Chief Information Officer

Michelle McDonald, Public Information Officer

518-408-2475

The 16th Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference will be held on June 4-5, 2013 at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.  Recognized as the premier Northeast conference for cyber security education, the event is co-hosted by the NYS Office of Information Technology Services’ Enterprise Information Security Office, the New York State Forum, Inc., and the University at Albany's School of Business and College of Computing and Information.

Each year the event draws approximately 1,000 attendees from government, the private sector, and academia to the Capital Region. This year’s conference theme is Helping Navigate Stormy Seas. Two full days of sessions are offered.

"Given that we live in a world in which Internet-connected systems are relied upon in every aspect of our public and private lives and there are an increasing number of threats to the security of those systems, the State of New York focuses considerable attention on protecting the sensitive information entrusted to its care.  This focus includes initiatives such as the Governor’s Cyber Advisory Board and the Department of Financial Services’ efforts to review the security steps taken by insurance companies that do business in the state.  Another important aspect of this focus is the state’s longstanding commitment to outreach, training, and awareness in the area of cyber security. It is incumbent upon information security professionals to receive regular training and share information in order to maintain their ability to secure these systems," said Thomas D. Smith, New York’s Chief Information Security Officer.  “The 16th Annual Conference continues our efforts to provide a venue in which information security professionals, as well as members of the broader community, are afforded an opportunity to learn from leading experts from government, industry, and academia and to network with their peers."

On June 4, the conference opens with a welcome by Fran Reiter, Executive Deputy Director of State Operations.  The conference continues with  featured  keynote speaker Michael Papay, Vice President of Information Security and Cyber Initiatives for Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector and Chief Information Security Officer, presenting “Recommended Cyber Actions for Large Enterprises: An Industry Perspective.”  Billy Rios of Cylance returns on June 5 to provide the Annual Symposium on Information Assurance’s keynote talk “Why every CSO needs to know Industrial Control Systems (ICS).”

The Annual Symposium on Information Assurance (ASIA) runs concurrently with the main conference and presents academic papers on information security topics by academic experts.

"With so much of our society and economy online, we’re increasingly vulnerable to attacks on critical infrastructures like our financial and energy systems,” said Peter A. Bloniarz, Dean for the College of Computing and Information at the University at Albany, State University of New York.  “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 keeping ourselves and our information safe.”

 “In this world of virtually unlimited information, it is critical that government, academia, and corporate come together to collaborate on the topic of Cyber Security.  This conference offers that perfect venue,” said Joan Sullivan, Executive Director of The New York State Forum, Inc.

Other highlights of the conference include 48 training sessions featuring topics such as: threat landscape, mobile, legal and cloud security issues, incident response, public–private partnerships, IT solutions, and more.

For more information, including conference agenda, keynote biographies, and registration information, visit the conference website at http://www.dhses.ny.gov/go/conference2013, follow the conference on Twitter @#nyscyber, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nystatecio.