CARLISLE, Pa. — In today’s digital world, how do we know our information is secure? What are the most pressing cybersecurity issues? What steps should be taken to tighten businesses cyber systems and cybersecurity? What laws govern data and data breaches? What is the government doing to help businesses? Should and can business share cyber threat and hack information with the government? These questions and more were answered Wednesday, Sept. 12, at KPMG Philadelphia during “Cybersecurity in Today’s Digital World,” a panel discussion moderated by Anne Toomey McKenna, distinguished scholar of cyber law and policy at Dickinson Law and Penn State’s Institute for CyberScience.
Dickinson Law alumna Kristi Lane Scott (Class of 2003), assistant general counsel, Central Intelligence Agency; Penn State Smeal alumnus Brian Geffert, global chief information security officer, KPMG International; and Benjamin Stone, supervisory special agent and head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Philadelphia Cyber Crimes Unit, composed the panel.
The event brought together nearly 100 attorneys, information technology and security professionals, financial experts and students to understand the nature of cyber threats today and what business and government are doing to protect consumers against the unauthorized use of electronic data and comply with the evolving national legal frameworks.
“The insight, experience and knowledge shared by this panel with its diverse expertise in law, cybersecurity, technology and intelligence amply demonstrated the need for and benefits that flow from interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing,” said McKenna. “From global businesses to local individuals, cybersecurity and the resilience of our interconnected systems depend upon such collaborative teamwork and information sharing.”
Attendees learned more about what businesses are legally required to do to use personal information; how different types of information should be handled; how to keep information secure under new laws in the United States and Europe; and cost-effective steps to make systems more secure, including two-factor authentication, employee education about phishing emails and good cyber hygiene, cyber insurance, independent system back-ups to defeat ransomware attacks, and computer- and device-use regulations/manuals for all employees.
Dickinson Law, KPMG, Penn State's Smeal College of Business, and Smeal Club Philadelphia hosted the event.