Where Oh Where is the Knowledge to Share? -- an ICS-ISAC Public Briefing

ARLINGTON, Va. - July 8, 2013 - PRLog -- In this panel discussion industry experts investigate the possible sources and application of the knowledge needed to secure critical infrastructure.  Questions the panel will ponder include:

- Is it the public or private sectors who have the most or best knowledge?
- How can asset owners effectively use knowledge shared with them?
- What can vendors do to enable knowledge sharing?

Facilitated by Industrial Control System Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS-ISAC) Chair Chris Blask this panel includes:  Zach Dexter Founder of Databracket and Steven Parker President of EnergySec.

The Situational Awareness Reference Architecture (SARA) which the ICS-ISAC is developing in partnership with its membership will provide a backdrop to the conversation.

Designed to benefit both the technical & non-technical attendee the ICS-ISAC Public Briefing series takes a no-nonsense approach to addressing issues that cut across industry, sector, and job function. So whether you are hands-on ICS, administrator, or C-level decision-maker you will find valuable information that you can take and implement to further secure your industrial control systems.

Where Oh Where is the Knowledge to Share?
Wednesday July 17^th, 2013 – 1:00-2:30pm ET
Register on the ICS-ISAC Events page (http://ics-isac.org/Blog/?page_id=48).

Zach Dexter is Founder of Databracket an innovative software solutions developer with global clientele.  From their corporate headquarters in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area Databracket has unparalleled access to highly skilled science and engineering talent and have used this advantage to develop a broad organizational background in computer security, software engineering and project management.  

Databracket can rapidly develop and deliver secure, easy-to-maintain systems by using rapid prototyping and iterative development to quickly create cloud-based software services for e-commerce, distributed messaging and general business applications such as billing.  

Steven Parker, CISA, CISSP, is the President of the Energy Sector Security Consortium (EnergySec). He was part of the grassroots effort that led to the formation of EnergySec and has served on its board of directors since 2008.  Steven’s experience includes more than a decade of full-time security work at critical infrastructure organizations including the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, PacifiCorp, and US Bank.  He has contributed to a broad range of security projects covering areas such as e-commerce, identity management, intrusion detection, forensics, and security event monitoring.

The foundation of EnergySec was established over a decade ago as relationships formed among a group of information security, physical security, disaster recovery and business continuity professionals from energy organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Initially, the small group met for lunch to discuss the security challenges they were all facing. The idea was simple: share common security practices for the purpose of learning from each other.  From these simple beginnings the organization has grown to nearly 1,500 members with over 470 organizations participating in EnergySec programs.

EnergySec was tapped by Department of Energy in 2010 to build the National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization (NESCO) a public-private partnership focused on security related information sharing in the electric sector.  The development of the NESCO virtual information sharing organization remains a key focus of EnergySec as it continues to develop programs and other efforts to meet the needs of the energy sector into the future.

Chris Blask has a career that spans the breadth of the industrial control system cybersecurity space.  From humble beginnings as a control system engineer he soon saw the need for and invented one of the first commercial firewall products.  Joining Cisco Systems he then led their firewall business to a position of global leadership, a legacy that continues to this day.  Recognizing the need to apply Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) technology to ICS cybersecurity he founded Lofty Perch, authored the first book on SIEM, and created AlienVault's ICS Group.

Today, Mr. Blask is actively involved with a wide range of domestic and international efforts.  He is Founder and CEO of ICS Cybersecurity, Inc.; Chair of the Industrial Control System Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS-ISAC); Chief Architect for NorthWind Technologies in Doha, Qatar; and is advisor to Itex Solutions in Sana’a, Yemen and to Targetproof in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

The Industrial Control System Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS-ISAC) exists to bring together the private sector partners and stakeholders for the purpose of sharing knowledge about risks, threats and best practices across our shared critical infrastructure. The Center was created to provide the ICS community with a common platform where collaboration can be performed in an environment best suited to the needs of all involved parties.

A member driven organization, the ICS-ISAC is supported by valued industry partners including Red Tiger Security, Dynetics, Texas PUC, IBM, Management Analytics, McAfee, n-Dimension, Yokogawa, GDS Transnational, SISCO, and Waterfall Security. Interested organizations, researchers, vendors, and asset owners can become a part of the Industrial Control System Information Sharing and Analysis Center at http://ics-isac.org.

POC – Debbie Windle  ●  979-204-7218  ●  dwindle@ics-isac.org