CIA Director to speak at Cyber Georgia @ Augusta University

Registration opens for summit co-hosted by Augusta University and The Georgia Chamber

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Sept. 21, 2016) – CIA Director John Brennan and NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett will be among other top authorities in cybersecurity at Cyber Georgia @ Augusta University on Oct. 12-13. Brennan and Ledgett will be keynote speakers at the summit, which will bring together government, academia and industry experts for the latest updates on how to improve cybersecurity and how businesses can better protect themselves in cyberspace.

Registration is open for Cyber Georgia @ Augusta University, which will take place at the J. Harold Harrison, MD Education Commons on the university’s health sciences campus.

“It is an honor to welcome CIA Director John Brennan and NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett along with so many other members of the cyber community to our campus for what has become our annual cybersecurity conference,” said Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel, PhD. “This year we are also pleased to partner with The Georgia Chamber of Commerce in co-hosting the event. For the third consecutive year Augusta University has brought nationally and internationally recognized experts onto our campus to share insights on this critical issue. And as a result, we provide a unique opportunity for academicians to come together with military and business partners to discuss how we can best safeguard cyberspace. Such broad based collaboration is essential to meeting the cyber challenges of the 21st century.”

This year’s program is being co-hosted by The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and will focus on current threats and the imminent need to build a workforce through education and recruitment of the next generation of cybersecurity experts.

Former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss will serve as this year’s honorary host. Chambliss previously served as vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Other keynote speakers include:

• Tom Wilson, vice president and chief information officer at Southern Company;
• Maj. Gen. John Morrison, commanding general of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon;
• Don Freese, director of the FBI’s National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force;
• Maurice “Mo” Bland, deputy director of the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
• G.B. Cazes, vice president of the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, Louisiana.

“Augusta University and our Cyber Institute are committed to excellence in teaching and education,” said Joanne Sexton, director of the Augusta University Cyber Institute. “Cyber Georgia @ Augusta University is one way to fulfill that commitment. By bringing cyber experts to our campus, we are providing our students, professors and community with an opportunity to learn about cyber from the best in the field.”

The Augusta University Cyber Institute, which provides the framework for all things cyber at the institution, was established in June 2015 to enable, support and champion meaningful, innovative, interdisciplinary research and education for cybersecurity. The institute was recently recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. Its work focuses on collaborative partnerships to impact K-12 and higher education, health care, government and business communities.

Recently, the university also signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence to share resources and help develop a cyber-trained workforce through education, innovation, research and outreach. For the past two summers, the university has hosted GenCyber Camps for high school students and teachers. The camps were sponsored by grants from the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation.

Current cybersecurity courses and degrees taught at Augusta include advanced cyber defender courses at the Hull College of Business, a medical informatics program through the College of Allied Health Sciences and cyberterrorism courses through the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. A master of science in information security management will also be offered starting in spring 2017.