Conference Highlights Growing Threat of Cybercrime

The Business Council of Westchester and Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems held the half-day conference on October 6 entitled CyberStorm-Cybersecurity in Business: Emerging Threats & Innovative Solutions to discuss the growing threat our nation faces from cybercriminals.

National experts such as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and Information Systems expert Brigadier General Timothy T. Lunderman, as well as IT experts from major corporations like IBM, Johnson & Johnson and MasterCard weighed in on this complex and timely topic.

Lunderman, who has many years of experience in Air Force intelligence, likened the current state of affairs to a war where the combatants are increasingly skilled at attacking vulnerabilities that are not being well protected. He said as in war, the defenders need to determine the “key terrain” and protect that rather than focus on protecting all their data because there is so much. “If I was a bank, the money might be the key terrain,’’ said Lunderman, who currently serves as Special Assistant to the Director of Air National Guard for Headquarters Air Force, Chief Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer.

Vance, who has rapidly established his office as a national leader in the fight against cybercrime and identify theft, described the rise in cybercrime as “staggering,” accounting for more than a third of all felony cases handled by his office. “The way we used to deal with cybercrime is not going to cut it anymore,” he said, noting that his office is placing greater emphasis on prevention of cybercrime. As Manhattan DA, Vance opened a $10 million cyber lab last year where more than 75 prosecutors, investigators and analysts work together sharing information with law enforcement offices in London and Paris.

Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester, said the BCW teamed up with Pace to hold the conference because cybersecurity is of growing concern to its business membership. “We hear from businesses all the time about cybersecurity threats,’’ said Gordon.

Jonathan Hill, dean of Pace’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems Hill said Pace University held the conference to highlight its position as one of the top schools in the nation for training experts to detect and eliminate incursions that are threatening to derail governments and industry. Pace University’s Seidenberg School was designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, one of only two Centers in the New York metropolitan area.