(Aug. 20, 2019) — The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) hosts two conferences this week at the Downtown Campus: the CyberTexas Foundation Conference and the Information Sharing and Analysis Organization Standards Organization (ISAO SO)’s Third Annual International Information Sharing Conference (IISC).
The conferences will unite local and national industry leaders and speakers from McAfee, Symantec, IBM Security, Booz Allen Hamilton and include Guy Walsh, founding executive director of the National Security Collaboration Center (NSCC) at UTSA.
The first conference, hosted by the UTSA and the CyberTexas Foundation, will be held August 20 and 21. While the focus is on Texas communities, the topics presented at the conference will have broad appeal and applications for organizations and communities nationwide. Attendees will gain the knowledge needed to successfully navigate the cyber ecosystem through networking events, educational seminars, keynote addresses from industry, senior government and thought leaders throughout Texas.
On August 21 and 22, UTSA will host the Third Annual International Information Sharing Conference (IISC), themed “Information Sharing in Communities.” The keynote speakers will include U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro. The event will welcome cybersecurity information sharing groups and communities to address issues affecting the information sharing ecosystem and its impact on communities locally, regionally, nationally and abroad.
The ISAO SO is a non-governmental organization established in October 2015 to facilitate the implementation of Presidential Executive Order 13691, “Promoting Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing.” The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) leads the ISAO SO with support from LMI. It works with existing information sharing organizations, owners and operators of critical infrastructure, relevant agencies, and other public- and private-sector stakeholders through a voluntary consensus standards development process to identify a common set of voluntary standards for the creation and functioning of ISAOs.
“The ISAO SO is dedicated to driving the conversation on the value of information sharing and building trust among communities,” said Greg White, director of the UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security and executive director of the ISAO SO. “This year’s conference will bring together the entire information sharing ecosystem, with a focus on communities, and build upon last year’s momentum around pushing this ecosystem forward.”
The pair of conferences that are offered this month will serve as annual meeting points for Texas professionals involved in the day-to-day development of the cyber ecosystem. With 300-plus attendees spanning the scope of government, industry and academia, “Cybersecurity Communities Throughout Texas” is supported by CyberTexas Foundation supporters, Air Force STEM, Rackspace, SecureLogix, IPSecure, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Cybersecurity San Antonio, Alamo Chapter of AFCEA, Alamo-ISSA, SA TecoSystem, TecBloc, UTSA-CIAS, UTSA-NSCC, SASTEMIC and a group of colleges, five of which have earned a designation as NSA/DHS Centers of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance Education.
Other speakers featured at the IISC conference will include Judge Jill Sklar, Jackson County, Texas; Steve Povolny, Head of Advaced Threat Research at McAfee; Ria Aiken, director of business information security operations at the Federal Bank of Atlanta; Gary Gardner, chairman of InfraGard National; and the Honorable Stuart Gerson, former acting U.S. Attorney General.
UTSA is an urban serving university devoted to tackling the grand challenges facing San Antonio. Through the advancement of education, research and workforce development, it is anchoring the creation of an emerging high-tech corridor to support San Antonio’s future.
