The annual Information and Telecommunication Systems Day is jam-packed with sessions to inform students on security matters.
The event is hosted by Ohio University’s J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems, and will hold talks Thursday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. with the theme, “Security Matters.”
The keynote speaker, Mike Locatis, is the former assistant secretary for the U.S. Dept. of Security and oversaw cyber security during President Obama’s first term.
Locatis began as the chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Energy before working for the president.
During his time in homeland security, Locatis was in charge of managing a nearly $1 billion appropriation for deployment and leadership of national cyber defense systems. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Federal CIO Council that provides leadership for President Barack Obama’s CloudFirst and cyber security initiatives, according to a university news release.
Now, Locatis works as a managing partner of Nexusist, a company “focused on helping to build and cultivate high-growth ventures that involve critical infrastructure protection,” according to its website.
“The speakers are geared to a wider audience including all communication and journalism students and those who have interest in the subject matter,” said Marika Bresler, a representative from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
A cell phone gives better access to family and friends, but also makes you more susceptible to security hacks.
This risk will be explained by Damon Cockrel, a mobile security strategist, at a lecture Thursday afternoon.
“As commerce has been incorporated into the mobile platform, the risks and rewards of mobility devices increases,” said Trevor Roycroft, an associate professor in the J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems.
Roycroft believes that both businesses and consumers should be concerned with mobile security.
“Ensuring the security of mobile devices will enable new applications and new ways of improving the mobile experience — in other words, security in the mobile ecosystem will promote innovation,” Roycroft said.
The lecture would also attract students who might want to develop a smartphone app or learn about how these technologies work.
“When I talk to students, when I talk to people my age, they live with their phones,” said Philip Campbell, associate professor and director of the McClure School.
People depend on their phones for many functions, including securing houses and accessing their bank accounts.
“If there’s something you value, it can be at risk from bad network security,” Campbell said.
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