North Dakota Chief Information Officer Shawn Riley and Chief Information Security Officer Kevin Ford will participate in the third annual critical infrastructure and cybersecurity conference scheduled for Oct. 6 – 7, 2020. Hosted by Bismarck State College, this year’s event will be held virtually and features experts including NFL Senior Vice President of Security Cathy Lanier and owner of Black Hills Information Security John Strand.
North Dakota CIO Shawn Riley will give opening remarks on day two of the conference followed by a keynote by Ford. The robust agenda includes participation from Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3), Louisiana Cyber Events (Louisiana State Police), LMG Security and other state and regional experts.
“North Dakota continues to be a leader in elevating cybersecurity as a state priority,” said Ford. “We have numerous lessons learned from COVID-19 and the shift to telework, as well as examples of the tremendous ecosystem in the state and region helping defend our systems and our critical infrastructure from threats. This year’s lineup reflects an outstanding group of local and national leaders in these arenas.”
“This year's keynote speakers are all nationally recognized in their fields, and we are thrilled to continue the tradition of bringing together renowned thought leaders to continue to engage at all levels across public and private sector industries,” said conference vice chair Darin Hanson.
North Dakota Information Technology will also be launching a statewide cybersecurity education campaign the first week in October in conjunction with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
“We have an obligation to not only protect our systems and citizens’ data, but to help educate all North Dakotans on cybersecurity threats and what they can do to defend themselves online at home, work or school,” said Ford.
Palo Alto Networks is a Partner Sponsor of the event. Gold Sponsors include Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Dakota Carrier Network, Doosan Digital Innovations America, MDU Resources, and Starion Bank. Silver Sponsors include Marco Technologies. For more information and to register visit https://cyberconbsc.com.