UWF Center for Cybersecurity launches National Cybersecurity Awareness Month at ITEN WIRED
October 5, 2018
The University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity ushered in National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by participating in the ITEN WIRED Summit on Oct. 1-2 at Hilton Pensacola Beach.
The Center for Cybersecurity hosted the student competition on its state-of-the-art Florida Cyber Range and five of its faculty and staff presented at the conference. ITEN WIRED is an annual conference that brings together executives, entrepreneurs, professionals and educators to advance technology and innovation.
"Our partnership with the UWF Center for Cybersecurity this year was instrumental in the conference's success,” said Jim Rhodes, director of ITEN WIRED. “Besides providing the Florida Cyber Range and managing the cyber competition, faculty members from the University were there to give hands-on demonstrations of the range and talk about the latest trends in cybersecurity. The Center is a driving force to transform this area into the "Cyber Coast" and create a pipeline of local talent for the industry. We had a significant number of students in attendance, so it provided a great opportunity to get them to consider cybersecurity as a future career."
Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, UWF Center for Cybersecurity director, and Dr. Tirthankar Ghosh, associate director, presented “The Cyber Coast: at the Forefront of Innovation.” El-Sheikh told the audience that Northwest Florida is ripe to be a global leader in cybersecurity, citing tremendous military assets, growing industry, a cyber-conscious government, the nationally-designated UWF, its nationally-acclaimed Center for Cybersecurity and high job demand.
“Northwest Florida is a hot spot for cybersecurity jobs, and we’re outpacing the national growth average,” said El-Sheikh, who encouraged collaboration from the various sectors to elevate Northwest Florida to a cybersecurity capital.
Assistant Director Guy Garrett and Chad Rankin, systems network assistant, utilized the Florida Cyber Range to present at two sessions: “Gone Phishing” and “How to Shore Up Cyber Defense Skills.”
Garrett told the audience that 77 percent of hacks come from phishing emails.
“Stop. Think. Connect. That think part is the piece of the puzzle that hackers count on," Garrett said. "They count on people not thinking.”
Garrett and Rankin constructed and facilitated the student competition, Operation Poseidon’s Trident. UWF Cybersecurity Club entered two teams. UWF students Isaac Beagle, Jeff Holland, Michael Mitchell, Thomas Thibaut, Emily Vaughn and Taylor West teamed up to win the title. The Pensacola State College team finished runner-up, followed by Gulf Coast State College, The University of South Alabama, the second UWF team and Pine Forest High School.
Dr. Dallas Snider, Department of Information Technology Chair and UWF Center for Cybersecurity Faculty Fellow, presented, “Utilizing Wearable Sensors to Detect Cognitive Impairment in Pilots.” UWF partnered with IHMC, Naval Aviation Schools Command and Navy Medicine Training Support Center to study pilot brain waves to reduce the risk of deadly hypoxia episodes. Hypoxia is a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues.
“What is dangerous about hypoxia in the cockpit is the symptoms are not the same,” Snider said. “There were 12 symptoms all over the board with no rhyme or reason. It wasn’t dependent on gender, height or even age.”
Center for Cybersecurity Ambassador Carson Wilber and fellow UWF students Christian Um Kaman and Buu Tran Duong presented, “Digital Media & Social Engineering: Using Your Data Against You” to a standing-room-only crowd.
Wilber advised the audience to be cautious with social media and cited the information Facebook acquires from users as a prime example.
“They have all the photos, all the videos, all the posts, all the contacts, all of your locations. It’s amazing what all they have. It’s kind of scary,” said Wilber, who visits K12 schools and shares his cybersecurity expertise with students in his role as a UWF cybersecurity ambassador.
Presentations from experts in their respective fields and the opportunity to network with peers lured a record number of technology professionals, educators and students to the 15th ITEN WIRED Summit.
"This year's summit attendance increased over 10% from last year's record numbers,” Rhodes said. “There are several factors that I believe can be attributed to this steady progression. First, ITEN WIRED is truly a one-of-a-kind event for our area. The technology industry is thriving along the Gulf Coast, but there are few opportunities for people in the field to network with one another and hear subject matter experts talk about the latest trends and challenges. Second, the spirit of ITEN WIRED is to showcase what is going on in our own backyard. There is a large number of successful companies, as well as exciting start-ups in Northwest Florida. Spotlighting them helps create an excitement about the potential of this area. Third, the group of volunteers that plan this event are truly amazing and extremely dedicated to raising the bar each year to keep the summit fresh and exciting."
The Center for Cybersecurity successfully kicked off National Cybersecurity Awareness Month at ITEN WIRED and will continue to promote cybersecurity awareness. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a global effort among government, industry and academia to increase cybersecurity resiliency as a nation, promote online safety awareness and provide resources to stay safer and more secure online.
