Thank you to our fantastic speakers at InfoSec 2011! You can view the PDF version of their presentations below.

Marc Elliott (Quaresso): The Web Browser Is the New Perimeter

Kurt Johnson (Courion): Security in the Cloud: 5 Things to Know to Cut Through the Fog

Branden Williams (RSA): A State of Dynamic Risk: Containment and Victory in a World of APTs

David Houlding, MSc, CISSP, Healthcare Enterprise Architect (Intel):
“Managing Risk with Consumerization of Mobile Devices”

Carl Herberger (Radware): The Rise of Cyber-Hactivism and Application

Adrian Crenshaw (Irongeek): Pilfering Local Data:Things an Attacker Would want to Grab with Short Term Local Access

It’s always good to have some reminders to stay vigilant and be smart. If you are interested in learning more about Information Security, you should check out InfoSec 2011. Register here.

We hope that you all enjoyed the 10th Annual InfoSec conference this past week.  This year, InfoSec10 hosted over 458 IT security professionals at the Nashville Convention Center, making this year’s conference the largest InfoSec to date!

Nashville Technology Council Member Bruce McCully of Dynamic Edge wrote this insightful blog post about his discoveries while attending the InfoSec breakout sessions and panels.  What was the most valuable take away you got from InfoSec?  Let us know in the comments!

According to a 2009 Symantec Study, cyber crime is now the most profitable criminal activity– just ahead of drug trafficking.

What are they after? Access to your data. They want account numbers, social security numbers and personal information. Today, these threats come from all over the world. No longer is the average hacker a bored college techie. Now, there are warehouses of children in Russia that are paid cash per SSN harvested. They have the time and motivation to exploit any and all weaknesses in our networks.

The worst part is there is a weakness in every network that no firewall or virus software can eliminate. The people using it. The number one way criminals gain access to your network is by misleading a user into inviting them in. One wrong click and they have everything they need to rob you blind and destroy your business.

Here’s the scoop: the criminal does some research and crafts an email specifically directed at one of your employees. It says something about saving money on healthcare or another work related topic to peak their interest. There’s a link and a form that the user is asked to fill out. Here’s what’s new to this trick—the email appears to come from someone inside the office, usually their boss.

By clicking on the form, the user gives the criminal control of their computer. That night, the criminal uses access to the user’s machine to break into the company server. He then has free will to harvest and destroy your data as he pleases.

The best targets for these crimes are businesses that do not have a full time IT person. These businesses usually depend on a tech guy to come out and fix stuff when it breaks. The biggest problem here is that most of them don’t even know they’ve been hacked until it’s too late. A recent study found that last year 40% of small businesses were hacked. Half of them didn’t even know they were attacked.

What can you do? Train your people, blog about it, tell your mom, and make sure that you don’t click on anything that you are not expecting. If you’re ever suspicious, ask whoever supposedly sent you the e-mail if it’s legit. Just remember, the email is may not be from who it says it is.

I learned about this new threat 3 days ago when the Nashville Technology Counsel hosted Infosec. I haven’t told my mother yet, or trained my staff, but I did blog about it. Tell your friends folks. This threat is real.

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On September 14, 2010, The Nashville Technology Council and Middle Tennessee Chapter of Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) will host over 400 attendees and two-dozen locally and nationally recognized speakers.

InfoSec offers two industry-recognized keynote speakers, panel discussions and multiple breakout sessions focusing on technical and management issues, as well as healthcare and other industry regulations in the security industry. The Southeast’s leading security conference now in it’s tenth year. InfoSec brings technologists and security professionals for a full day of exciting speakers and networking opportunities.

Register today!

Download the Agenda for Infosec 2010.

Nashville Tech Story (12/17/09)

As the year comes to an end, we can’t help but remember all of our accomplishments in 2009.  Take a look at our picks for the top 10 NTC Moments in 2009.

1.       Branding – Feel the Beat of Technology. On January 22, 2009, after 10 years, the Nashville Technology Council unveiled its new brand at the first Membership Breakfast.  New creative, new print, and new website.

2.      Techville 2009 – Mapping the Future – March 23rd we released the first poster-size Techville.us map, illuminating the technology landscape in Nashville, in addition to an interactive site at www.techville.us.

3.       Cinco de Mayo Margarita Mixer – We love a themed party – May 5th we decided to shake things up with the addition of a brand new networking mixer.  CEO’s, CIOs, Digital, Geeks, and a beautiful view of the city punctuated the evening.

4.       The Naked Hospital – Are you transparent? –  With a visit from Congressman Marsha Blackburn, the community discussed the importance of electronic health records and transparency for hospitals and other healthcare providers.

5.       Entrepreneur Center – Accelerating businesses - In conjunction with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Entrepreneur Center was formed, accelerating the growth of the business in the Nashville area.  The Entrepreneur Center’s Mission is to connect entrepreneurs with critical resources to accelerate business creation and growth

6.       Marketplace Launch – Saving money for our members was key in the year of the Recession –  Health Insurance, Professional Services, Office Products, and more are available at a discounted rate for Nashville Technology Council Members

7.       InfoSec Conference – Our Largest Conference Yet — September 17th marked the largest InfoSec Conference in the history of the Tech Council.  This was also the largest meeting for the ISSA in the Southeast. Dan Geer from In-Q-Tel had everyone mesmerized.

8.       10th Anniversary Bash – Happy 10th Birthday to the Tech Council – September 22nd marked the 10th Anniversary of the Nashville Technology Council.  The Tech Council has grown from 22 founding companies to 385 member companies over the 10 years.

9.       1st Annual Awards Gala – Celebrating Success in Technology – October 27th, over 400 individuals gathered at the Symphony Center, walked the red carpet, and watched as technology industry leaders were recognized for their accomplishments.  Gibson provided the guitars and we all felt the beat at the Schermerhorn.

10.       Steve Ballmer to visit Nashville –  On December 3rd, we announced our line-up for the 2010 Membership breakfast, including Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft, and Abbie Lundberg, former Editor and Chief of CIO Magazine.

Thanks to all of our members, volunteers, and technology enthusiasts for making this year a success.  In 2010, we will focus on member engagement, workforce development, new programs, education, and economic development.  Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to a great year ahead.

The Nashville Tech Story (9/24/2009)

Last week, the Nashville Technology Council and the Information Systems Security Association hosted the 8th annual InfoSec Nashville Security conference.  To complete the day, Dr. Dan Geer, CISO, In-Q-Tel, debated the issue of government taking control of the Internet. It was also presented that the President of the United States would acquire a “kill” switch, used in a terror situation that would completely shut down the Internet nationwide. The thought of the government taking over such a huge responsibility and complicating Internet protocols even more is not plausible.  Further, the Internet’s inherent modality would limit the government’s ability to close down nodes of the network without causing significant corporate and financial backlash.  Just seconds of downtime can cause millions, if not billions, of transactions to fail.  The market repercussions would be disastrous.

However, the Washington Post reported, on Tuesday, that the Federal Communications Commission is now endorsing network neutrality. Net neutrality disables restrictions on content, sites, or platforms as well as equipment that can be attached and the modes of communication allowed. 

Click here to read the article from the Washington Post.

The Nashville Tech Story (9/22/2009)

Today, the Nashville Technology Council is celebrating 10 years, in Nashville. Over the last 10 years many milestones have been accomplished, and below you’ll find what we think are 10 of our top achievements.

1.       September 1999 – Warren Ratliff founded the Tech Council.

2.       April 2000 – David Condra was hired as the first full time President of the Council.

3.       March 2001 – Technology Nashville, Nashville Technology Council’s Flagship event, was held.

4.       August 2002 – The first InfoSec Security Conference was held.

5.       June 2002 – Nashville CIO Council formed a partnership with the Tech Council.

6.       September 2003 – Nashville Capital Network spun out of the Nashville Technology Council.

7.       May 2008 – Turning the Tide of Technology (T3) was launched as an educational initiative.

8.       January 2009 – The Tech Council re-branded with new logo and mission, to help the Middle Tennessee technology community succeed.

9.       April 2009 – Techville.us was launched.

10.    August 2009 – Membership reached an all time high with over 380 member companies.

We would like to thank all the individuals and companies who helped us reach these milestones and look forward to continuing to work with each of you over the next 10 years.

If you would like to celebrate with us stop by Edgehill Studios Café from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. today for desserts, drinks, and networking.

The Nashville Tech Story (9/18/2009)

The Nashville Technology Council along with the ISSA hosted the 8th Annual InfoSec Conference in Nashville, TN.  With nearly 400 in attendance, the conference hosted two keynote speakers, four tracks, and multiple panel sessions.

“This is the best InfoSec Conference we have held.  It is a direct reflection on the hard work from the planning committee and the staff at the Nashville Technology Council,” remarked Mark Johnson, CISO at Vanderbilt University.  “We look forward to our continued involvement for years to come.”

Dan Geer, CISO for In-Q-Tel, the venture arm of the CIA, was quoted as saying “The Internet has created an environment where every sociopath is your neighbor.”  He questions whether companies are measuring the right things and further.  Are they asking the correct questions in the first place?  His thought is that the Cloud will become the dominant model as “non-identifiable computers become the norm.”  He also believes that one of the punctuating events in the security movement occurred when the Win95 TCPIP stack was made available for free.

Don Ainsley, the Global Security Officer for Deloitte & Touche, is convinced that Nashville’s security community will be busy for many years to come based on our position in healthcare and technology.  He focused on a holistic view of security including personnel, IT, and the organization as a whole.

“We are very proud to partner with the ISSA to bring such a quality event year after year to Nashville,” said J. Tod Fetherling, President/CEO of the Nashville Technology Council.  “Security continues to be an area of focus for our companies in government, digital content, healthcare, and transactions.”

The Nashville Tech Story (9/11/2009)

For the first time in InfoSec history, we will close registration early due to the large amount of attendees already registered.  Registration will be closed at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.  We are expecting an attendance close to 350 and are sold out on our sponsorships.

The Nashville Technology Council and the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association will be hosting the 8th annual InfoSec Nashville conference, next Thursday.  Speakers will be discussing Data Loss Prevention, Web Application Firewall, Web Hacking and much more.  Don Ainslie, Global Security Officer, Deloitte and Dan Geer, CISO, In-Q-Tel will headline the event as our keynote speakers.

Don’t miss out on vital information that could save your company large amounts of revenue and many headaches.  Visit InfoSec Nashville 2009 and learn how to avoid trouble before it finds you.  Click here for more information.