Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference explores "Securing the Human"

“Securing the Human” was the focus of the 2011 Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference at the University of Illinois Springfield on March 11, 2011.

The one-day training conference was organized by the UIS Computer Science Department, in conjunction with InfraGard Springfield, an initiative of the FBI, and CSSIA, a regional center for cyber security.

“Securing the Human is protecting them from disasters that they can get themselves into by giving out information they shouldn’t,” said Ted Mims, chair of the UIS Computer Science Department.

More than 200 people attended the conference, which included speakers from around the country talking about topics, such as “Using the Internet to Discover Personal Information” and “Securing Access to Applications and Social Media”.

“It’s an extremely important topic in cyber security and physical security. It’s probably our greatest weakness,” said Daniel Hancock, a senior Computer Science major who helped organize the conference.

Hancock says the conference is not only a chance for students like him to learn about the latest threats, but build connections with people in the industry.

“It presents a good networking opportunity to be able to get with them and discuss recent security trends,” said Hancock.

Conference participants were made up of law enforcement personnel, members of state agencies, as well as representatives from the public and private sector.