Page 22 - Cyber Warnings December 2015
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The Highlights & Takeaways of CyberMaryland 2015
By Todd Weller, VP, Corporate Development, Hexis Cyber Solutions
The CyberMaryland 2015 Conference took place at the end of October in Baltimore this year during
its an annual two-day event presented jointly by The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame and
Federal Business Council (FBC) in conjunction with academia, government and private industry
organizations.
Those attending were able to network, attend
seminars and hear speeches from top cyber
security professionals discussing the latest
news and industry trends.
My experience from the event this year
validates that next generation endpoint is
heating up, focus is shifting to detect and
respond from prevent, and integration and
automation are becoming more critical.
Below are my takeaways from the opening keynote and the sessions I attended.
Opening Keynote Discussed Nation State Adversaries, Active Cyber Defense and Cyber
Resilience
The opening keynote speaker was Philip D. Quade, Special Assistant to the Director for Cyber and
Chief of the Cyber Task Force, National Security Agency. Key points included:
The first wave of nation state attacks represented unsophisticated activity. Phase two is
coming and will be marked by more sophisticated, coordinated attacks. Low and slow
advanced persistent threats (APTs).
China is interested in gaining economic advantage by stealing IP, as well as looking to gain
control of critical infrastructures. Russia is very good at doing intelligence and motivated to
impact critical infrastructure.
Sharing threat information is becoming more critical as there is no individual company
capable of taking on China on their own.
The NSA’s Active Cyber Defense effort was highlighted. This is referred to as
SHORTSTOP. This represents a reference architecture consisting of multiple, best-of-breed
advanced threat solutions.
22 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – December 2015 Edition
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