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The Center for Strategic Information Technology and Security (Center) was recently voted in as the fourth member of the Upper Midwest Security Alliance (Alliance), a Minnesota nonprofit organization that produces Secure 360°, a premier regional security conference held annually during May in Saint Paul. Other members include regional chapters of the Business Continuity Planners Association (BCPA), the Information Systems and Control Association (ISACA), and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).
As a full member, the Center will serve as a voting member on the Alliance board of directors and play a significant role in the planning and managing of the conference. The Center's executive director, Bruce Lindberg, sees the conference "...as a major way the Center can achieve its mission of delivering cutting-edge expertise to the Minnesota business community and public agencies." In addition, he believes "the expertise and industry contacts that now exist as part of the Center will contribute to the continued growth and quality of this already successful event."
The 2008 Secure 360°, featuring the theme of "evolving threats and practical solutions," will take place on May 13 and 14 at the RiverCentre. In addition, the Center will sponsor a day-long pre-conference workshop on topics that will focus on open source security issues and solutions. Alliance members - strongly committed to a common mission of providing conference participants with a high quality, high value point learning experience - will maintain the early bird price of just $199 for this two-day event; a fraction of the cost to attend comparable events elsewhere in the country. The goals of this conference are to promote professional development, build a stronger regional community of security professionals, and create awareness of new solutions and products offered by industry leading companies.
The conference is a collaborative effort of the Alliance members and over 50 industry partners who sponsor, exhibit, and present at the event. The conference will feature keynote presentations from nationally known security experts who will speak to the conference theme of evolving threats and practical solutions. The Center plans to engage higher education faculty and public sector professionals as a new source of expertise for conference presentations. In addition, the Center is considering the possibility of leveraging the best content from the 2008 conference as a source for an inaugural edition of a new Minnesota-based professional journal that will focus on the application of innovations in information technology. |