NU hosts annual 'e-protect IT' information assurance conference

By Kara Swarbrick
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

It seems that the war with Iraq is reaching into every nook and cranny of the United States. It is even finding its way to the Norwich University campus.

The fifth annual e-ProtectIT Information Assurance Conference ran into trouble this year when several speakers were forced to cancel at the last minute because their services were needed elsewhere due to the threat of war.

"We unfortunately lost the participation of Gen. Alfred Gray, USMC retired, former
Commandant of the Marine Corps; Dan Wolfe, Director of the Information Assurance Directorate at the National Security Agency; and Brig. Gen. John C. Koziol, Deputy Director, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Deputy Chief of Staff, Air and Space Ops, US Air Force," said Mich Kabay, professor of computer information systems, associate professor of the information assurance program and Chair for the e-ProtectIT Conference.

"For obvious reasons, they didn't tell us exactly why they couldn't come."

With the threat of war in the air, the topics at hand seemed a little more tangible. Discussing the combating of terrorism in our own land seemed to impact conference attendees.

"The conference forum and topics certainly reflected real world issues and the discussions expounded on measures to combat not only external threats, but those which lie within our own borders," said LTC David C. Ward, USA (ret), Program Manager for Information Assurance Education and Training.

The importance of information assurance in the academic, industrial and governmental areas were presented, as has been the tradition of the conference for five years. Speakers in the past have always come from various businesses in these areas, yet this year there were far fewer military enrollments in the conference than there have been in the past.

"We had an excellent roster of speakers and enthusiastic participants. We saw fewer military enrollments than last year," Kabay said. "We were particularly pleased with the dedicated and serious participation of freshmen, many of them regular participants in the INFOSEC special interest group, and the excellent questions and comments from upperclassmen."

Because of the cancellations of several of the speakers, some people were asked to step up and fill in, including a student.

"We simply found qualified replacements from our professional circle of contacts. I think some participants were, at most, mildly disappointed when they heard the news of the changes, but I don't think anyone changed their plans to participate based on the change of speakers," Kabay said. "I would like to point out student Eric Whyne for special thanks for his willingness to step in at the last minute to replace a missing speaker," Kabay said.

Despite the frazzled state that would be expected from the last-minute rearranging needed to keep the conference running smoothly, the group appeared unbothered by the changes and the disturbances of the war.

"There is a heightened sense of awareness in America in regards to all forms of terrorism," Ward said. "Cyber terrorism is a new and progressive threat against the United States and the American public, and becoming educated in countering cyber crime is a new challenge for the entire nation."

"I think that we professionals have been discussing and planning anti-terrorism measures for so long that we are less excitable than amateurs and novices," Kabay said. "It's like the response to car accidents: bystanders can become excited and disorganized, but the professionals move as steadily as they always do and get the work done."

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