A summit Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia on cybersecurity awareness that brought together government, law enforcement and private sector participants to help businesses strengthen their cybersecurity efforts was spearheaded by the US Chamber of Commerce.
American Express, AT&T and Firehost, along with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Institute of Technology and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) hosted the Cybersecurity Summit with the aim at helping small and mid-size business owners develop, evaluate and strengthen their individual cybersecurity programs.
“A few years ago, cyberattacks against the government and corporations were on the margins of news stories, but now a day doesn’t go by that we don’t hear about a data breach or cyber-intrusion,” said Ann Beauchesne, senior vice president for National Security and Emergency Preparedness at the US Chamber. “Through this summit and our cybersecurity awareness campaign, the chamber is urging businesses of all sizes to adopt fundamental Internet security practices to reduce network weaknesses and make the price of successful hacking steep.”
“Protecting the United States against cyber threats is one of the FBI’s most urgent priorities, and the Bureau’s partnership with U.S. companies is essential to this fight,” said FBI Deputy Director Mark F. Giuliano. “The FBI remains committed to mutually beneficial relationships with our private sector partners, as well as to having an open dialogue. Events such as today’s Cybersecurity Summit help promote awareness about the cyber threat, and facilitates engagement amongst government and business leaders alike on cyber security matters.”
“Cybersecurity is a pressing issue for Chamber members as it’s both a threat to our national and economic security,” said Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. “Georgia is a leader in cybersecurity research as many of our universities and growing technology sector focus on solutions to defend against attacks. Today’s Cybersecurity Summit shined a spotlight on this research by providing Georgia companies with strategies to create comprehensive cybersecurity plans that will protect their businesses.”
“Our vision at Georgia Tech is to integrate academia, government and industry to aggressively solve threats and transfer results into commercially deployable technologies," said Steve Cross, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. “As home to world-class scientists and engineers who are addressing today’s threats, while anticipating and preparing for what’s next, we’re proud to participate in this very important event.”
“The Technology Association of Georgia is proud to participate in an event like this that seeks to strengthen our cybersecurity efforts in Georgia,” said TAG President and CEO Tino Mantella. “Cybersecurity is among the top areas of concern for business with 43 percent of U.S companies having experienced a data breach of some kind in the past year. As the home of over 115 info security companies, the US Army Cyber Command, the Cyber Center of Excellence, the Cyber Resources Teams, and several other intelligence units, Georgia is on the frontlines in protecting against cybercrime.”
With more than 250 attendees, the summit served as the 2015 kickoff event for the US Chamber’s cybersecurity awareness campaign, Improving Today. Protecting Tomorrow, which aims to advance cybersecurity policies and educate businesses of all sizes about cyber threats and how to protect against them.
Learn more about the US Chamber’s campaign here.
