National experts to speak at IU cybersecurity conference

Federal cybersecurity experts will deliver keynote lectures at the 2014 Cybersecurity Summit, a conference organized annually by IU’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research.

Suzanne Spaulding, undersecretary of the National Protections and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, and Douglas Maughan, director of the cybersecurity division of the science and technology directorate of the DHS, will headline the summit, according to an IU news release.

“Undersecretary Spaulding and Director Maughan are at the forefront of the U.S. government’s efforts to develop effective cybersecurity programs and technologies,” CACR Senior Fellow David Delaney said in the release. “Each brings a spectacular wealth of knowledge that will be shared with us in June, and we’re incredibly fortunate both are able to attend one of the Midwest’s premier cybersecurity conferences.”

Spaulding has worked in both the private and public sectors, according to the DHS website. She has worked as a consultant on security and antiterrorism initiatives.

She was appointed to the Secure Commonwealth Panel in Virginia in 2002 to advise the executive and legislative branches of Virginia on crisis preparedness in the state after the Sept. 11 attacks.

According to the DHS website, Spaulding has also filled the role of executive director of the National Commission on Terrorism and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction, both federally mandated commissions.

The Cybersecurity Summit usually takes place in October during National Cybersecurity Month, but was moved to June 19 at the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis campus for the 2014 conference.

The conference will focus on the local effect of national and international cybersecurity issues, according to the release.

Admittance is free, but advance registration is required for attendees.

Panel discussions featured at the event will include representatives from the fields of business, government and higher education to discuss issues such as data breaches and software vulnerabilities.

“Cybersecurity touches nearly every aspect of modern life, to some degree,” Delaney said in the April 18 release. “We’ve seen massive data breaches from some of the world’s biggest companies and just last week learned of a software vulnerability called
Heartbleed that potentially affected up to two-thirds of all websites. The CACR Cybersecurity Summit is designed to bring the latest national and international
developments to a local audience, and we’re excited to again welcome guests from around the Midwest.”

Tori Fater