You may have seen CNN Military Analyst and US Air Force (Ret.) Colonel Cedric Leighton on the airwaves in the last few days, talking about physical security after a Horizon Airlines employee stole a turboprop plane from the Seattle airport.
However, he’s also passionate about cybersecurity and what he calls our current times, “the Cyber Age.”
His keynote at the second annual SecureWorld Twin Cities in Minneapolis will see with fresh eyes the challenges we face together.
He believes there are three key pillars involved: the nation state, the corporation, and you. And he says each one is being adversely affected by the lack of true cybersecurity.
On the military front: Colonel Leighton points to a number of nation-states under persistent attack directly through cyber attacks and indirectly through influence operations like those of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
"The very nature of warfare itself has changed in the Cyber Age. National power cannot just be measured by numbers of missiles, planes, and tanks. The quality and effectiveness of a nation’s Cyber Forces will have to be measured as well—and that won’t be easy."
On the corporation front: “As they increase in power relative to nation-states, corporations are increasingly where both the money and the power reside. Most companies don’t want to think like intelligence agencies, but since the new 'currency of the realm' is data, they are going to have to think and act like the intelligence agencies of nation-states.”
On the individual front: “In many respects, each one of us is the 'prize' that companies and governments are targeting. Whether they want to influence your vote in an election or your next purchase on Amazon, both of these pillars of our social structure depend on being able to influence, manipulate, control, or exploit the third pillar, you. But, shouldn’t you be the one to determine what data is shared with Facebook or any other entity? And, ultimately, shouldn’t you be paid for the use of your data?”
Hear more from the Colonel at SecureWorld Twin Cities, a full-day cybersecurity conference at the Downtown Minneapolis Hyatt Regency on September 6. See details and register here.
If you have questions about attending or sponsoring and want to join the collaboration, please reach out to your Twin Cities Event Director, Natalie Boyer, at natalieb@secureworldexpo.com.
See you September 6th as we come together to help make the region more secure.