By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
ODON — A new free Cybersecurity Demo Day is coming to WestGate Academy Oct. 26. “This will be our first year hosting the event,” Morgan Thewes, marketing and communications manager for Purdue Foundry@WestGate and the Purdue Research Foundation, tells Southern Indiana Business Report. “We decided to put on the event due to the increase of cyber threats and interest in cybersecurity.”
George Bailey, assistant director of Cyber Services at Purdue University cyberTAP, and one of the speakers for the event, stresses cybersecurity has become a business imperative. “U.S. businesses of all sizes experienced over 1,000 data breaches in 2020, and over 50% of the U.S. population experienced some form of data compromise impacting the privacy of their personally identifiable information,” he notes.
Goals for the day are creating opportunities and collaborations among NSWC Crane, universities and Indiana businesses; promoting startup technologies and capabilities within the cybersecurity industry; and helping supporting small businesses and industries in reducing the risk of cybersecurity threats and compromise.
Cybersecurity Demo Day is designed for small business owners and for students interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, and opportunities to network, learn and gain hands-on experience will be included. Other highlights include talks from industry and academic experts, panel discussions and demonstrations.
Speakers hail from organizations including Purdue University, Mantech, NSWC Crane and Eleven Fifty Academy, and among the many topics to be covered are challenges in cyber education, threats to small businesses, compliance with the Department of Defense, and awareness of cybersecurity 4.0. The complete schedule, presenter biographies, and registration information can be found here.
The day will begin with breakfast and networking at 9 a.m. and opening remarks at 9:15 a.m. The program will break for lunch at 11:30 a.m. and resume at 12:30 p.m. The event ends with a happy hour and networking opportunity at 4 p.m., with drinks provided by Switchyard Brewing Co. of Bloomington.
Organizers are also offering free booth space for companies in the cybersecurity industry. Registration for booth space will be accepted through Oct. 25, and companies can find out more by clicking here.
In addition, sponsorships are still available for the event. Organizations can learn more by emailing [email protected].