National Security Agency Director, Lt Gen Michael V. Hayden, headlines the Opening Plenary Session of the National Information Systems Security Conference, to be held October 16-19 at the Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Over the past year, Gen Hayden has begun transforming NSA to ensure it can successfully tackle the technology hurdles of the 21st Century. Gen Hayden will focus his discussion on the Agency's Information Assurance mission.
Other highlights of the Opening Plenary are a presentation by Dr. David J. Farber, University of Pennsylvania, and an award presentation to Dr. Eugene Spafford, Purdue University. Dr. Farber played a primary role in implementing several research and development networks, including NSFNet and BITNET II, and was instrumental in creating the NSF/DARPA-funded Gigabit Network Testbed Initiative. Dr. Spafford will receive the 2000 National Computer Systems Security Award for his outstanding contributions to the field. Dr. Spafford established, and is the director of, the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). This academic research group is a collaboration among academia, government, and industry to promote and support programs of research, education, and community service. Dr. Spafford received his Ph.D. in Information and Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The Conference Banquet speaker is Mark Rasch, Vice President of Global Integrity Corporation. Mr. Rasch has written and lectured extensively on computer crime, privacy, trademark, and trade secret issues on the Internet. He has been featured in the New York Times, ABC's Nightline, PBS's Technopolitics, CNBC, and National Public Radio as an expert on computer law and policy. At Global Integrity, he advises banks, insurance companies, entertainment companies, and other Fortune 100 companies on legal and policy issues related to conducting business in cyberspace.
The Closing Plenary will feature a "North American Panel" discussion on the issues relevant to information assurance, technology, and security. The speakers are Michael Jacobs, Deputy Director of Information Systems Security, NSA; Simon Gauthier, Deputy Chief, Information Technology Security, Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada; and Dr. William Mehuron, Director, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The National Information Systems Security Conference, sponsored jointly by NSA's National Computer Security Center and NIST's Information Technology Laboratory, provides a unique forum that addresses today's hottest global information systems security issues. The Conference attracts more than 1,500 participants from companies, government agencies, and university research centers from across the country and around the world.
For additional information about this Conference, call 410-850-0272, or visit the Conference web site at http://csrc.nist.gov/nissc.