Taking Silicon Valley’s Innovation Message to Washington: A Special Event on Cyber Security at the National Press Club June 25th Sponsored by the Security Innovation Network
Four years ago I became very concerned that the threats to our nation's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks were not only increasing, but that the escalating risks to our country's economic and national security were being largely ignored outside of the intelligence community and small groups of innovative entrepreneurs focused on addressing this problem. Through Levensohn Venture Partners' involvement as the lead venture sponsor of the IT Security Entrepreneurs' Forum (ITSEF) since its inception in 2007, and through my personal initiatives advocating public policy solutions to address cyber security issues, I have had some positive impact in increasing awareness of this problem. The non-profit Security Innovation Network, on whose board of directors I now serve, is taking this message to Washington on June 25th. I am joining an unusual group of thought leaders crossing big business, small business, academia, venture capital, and government who have all come together to address the urgent need for solutions to our nation's cyber security vulnerabilities:
Admiral (Ret.) Michael McConnell
Sr. Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton
Former Director National Intelligence
David Cullinane
Chief Information Security Officer
eBay
Tony Sager
Chief Vulnerability Analysis & Operations
National Security Agency
Jerry Archer
Chief Information Security Officer
Intuit
Randy Katz
United Microelectronics Corporation Distinguished Professor
EE and Computer Science Department, UC Berkeley
Dr. James Finley
CEO, The Finley Group
Former DOD Deputy Under Sec.
Aquisition & Technology
Dave Robbins
Chief Executive Officer
BigFix
Bob Ackerman
Allegis Capital
Managing Director and Co-Founder
John Weinschenk
Chief Executive Officer
Cenzic
Steve Elefant
Executive Director
Heartland Payment Systems
Robert Rodriguez
Chairman
Security Innovation Network
David Bryan
Executive Vice President
ManTech International
Dr. Douglas Maughan
Program Manager
Department of Homeland Security S&T
Bob Bragdon
Publisher
CSO Magazine
A brief description of my panel follows:
The Innovation Crisis in America—Implications for Cyber Security
The global financial crisis has exacerbated long-term negative trends
undermining the foundations of America’s economic growth engine.
Entrepreneurs, corporate and academic research and development
professionals, and venture capitalists are inextricably linked together
in this crisis. Declining spending on basic research by the U.S. Government and universities, reduced corporate R&D expenditures, and systemic risks to the integrity of the venture capital growth engine are converging to undermine the development of cutting
edge future solutions needed to protect our country’s cyber security.
This perspective from two venture capitalists, a leading academic, and
a successful security entrepreneur highlights the interdependence of
these communities and the implications to our country’s prospects for
sustainable economic growth, new job creation, and national security.
Panel Chair: Pascal Levensohn
Panelists:
Dave Robbins, CEO BigFix
Bob Ackerman, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Allegis Capital
Randy H. Katz, United Microelectronics Corporation Distinguished Professor, EE & Computer Science Department UC Berkeley
Co-Chair, Committee on Assessing the Impacts of Changes in the
Information Technology and Research and Development Ecosystem, National
Research Council of the National Academies
Attendance at this special event will be limited to 125 applicants.
Registration Fee: $75.00
Registration Fee for Government Employees: $45.00
Registration Fee for Media: No Charge
For more details about the Security Innovation Network and this special event, CLICK HERE.
Related posts:
- ITSEF III– Protecting our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure and Our Innovation Ecosystem Are Both Matters of National Security
- ITSEF III Video: Converging Forces– America’s Innovation Crisis, Cybersecurity, and National Security
- Live Radio Broadcast Today on American Innovation Crisis at 4PM EDT/ 3PM CDT/ 1PM PDT– Robert Rodriguez of Security Innovation Network and Pascal Levensohn Interviewed
- ITSEF III Video: Curt Carlson, CEO of SRI International, Calls for a National Innovation Czar
- “The Untold Cyber War”– Huffington Post Reports on Upcoming 2nd Annual IT Security Entrepreneurs Forum
2 Responses to “Taking Silicon Valley’s Innovation Message to Washington: A Special Event on Cyber Security at the National Press Club June 25th Sponsored by the Security Innovation Network”
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About Pascal
I am a venture capitalist focused on investing in Security, Cleantech, and Digital Media. I have a strong interest in public policy issues and advocate public-private collaboration to protect our nation's critical infrastructure.
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May 23rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
It’s very significant that a group with the diverse public and private sector experience represented in Pascal’s announcement has agreed to come together to discuss both the urgency of the threats we’re facing and the indispensable role that innovation must play in protecting our cyber networks!
June 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I attended the DHS /SRI ITTC on June 2nd. Talking to security vendors and security product consumers (e.g., Michael Hamilton from Seattle) it was apparent that there is a slight misalignment between the incentives of the two. A security product consumer wants to reduce the cost of security where a the vendors would rather not. Further, security is a global property for security product consumers, where as vendors are most interested in producing point solutions based products. Would you know if and how these issues are being addressed in ITTC or ITSEF ?