NEW YORK, April 28, 2009 – The Center for Information Networking and Telecommunications (CINT) at The City College of New York (CCNY) and the U.S. Army War College present “Cyber Infrastructure Protection: Policy and Strategy,” a two-day policy and technical seminar, June 4 – 5 at CCNY.  The conference will help policymakers and researchers stay abreast of the latest research and foster greater contact between these groups.

“As our dependence on the Internet and other telecommunications networks and information systems has increased, so have hostile attacks on cyber infrastructure by network predators,” said Dr. Tarek Sadaawi, Professor of Electrical Engineering in The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY and Director of CINT.  “The lack of security as a core element in the initial design of these systems and the continuous creation of new forms of attacks have resulted in networks becoming increasingly vulnerable.”

Professor Sadaawi noted that worms, viruses, spam and other forms of attacks cost billions of dollars in lost productivity worldwide.  Further, as attackers become more sophisticated in their approaches, the likelihood of a large-scale network failure or disruption, which could have devastating consequences, increases, he warned.

The conference features presentations by prominent academic, government and industrial researchers in the fields of information systems security, networking and telecommunications infrastructure protection.  A highlight will be a panel on “Cyberpower and National Security” with three speakers from the National Defense University:

• Dr. Stuart Starr, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy.
• Dr. Daniel T. Keuhl, Director of the Information Strategies Concentration Program.
• Larry Wentz, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy.

The conference keynote speakers are Peter Tippett and Christopher J. Mayer, both vice presidents with Verizon, who will speak on the 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report and Securing the Carrier Infrastructure – a Verizon Perspective, respectively.
Other speakers and their topics are:

• Dr. Rajesh Talpade, Chief Scientist and Director, Information Assurance Group, Telcordia Applied Technology Solutions: “Towards Foolproof IP Network Configuration Assessment.”
• Mostafa Hashem Sherif, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, AT&T Labs: “Security Considerations in Mobile Commerce.”
• Dr. Nabil R. Adam, Fellow and Senior Program Manager at the Infrastructure & Geophysical Division, Science & Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: “Cyber-physical Systems Security.”
• Dr. Angelos Keromytis, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University: “Voice Over IP: Risks, Threats and Vulnerabilities.”
• Dr. Anup K. Ghosh, Research Professor and Chief Scientist, Center for Secure Information System, George Mason University: topic TBA.
• Dr. Nirwan Ansari, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology: “On the New Breed of Denial of Service Attacks in the Internet.”
• Dr. Michael J. Chumer, Research Professor, Department of Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology: “Survivability of the Internet.”
• Dr. Douglas E. Salane, Associate Professor of Computer Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice: “Large-Scale Data Breaches: Are They Inevitable?”
• Dr. Adel S. Elmaghraby, Professor and Chair of the Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Louisville: “Resilience of Data Centers”
• Michael Losavio, attorney-at-law and instructor in the Department of Justice Administration and the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Louisville: “ The Information Polity: Social and Legal Frameworks for Critical Cyber Infrastructure Protection”

For additional information on “Cyber Infrastructure Protection: Policy and Strategy,” please visit www.ccny.cuny.edu/cip09.

About The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY
The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York, formerly the CCNY School of Engineering, is the only public engineering school within New York City.  It offers Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in seven fields: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering and computer science.  The School is recognized nationally for the excellence of its instructional and research programs and ranks among the most diverse engineering schools in the country.  On November 28, 2005, the CUNY Board of Trustees named the School in honor of Dr. Andrew S. Grove, a member of the CCNY Class of 1960, and a co-founder and former chairman of Intel Corp., the world’s leading producer of microprocessors.  For additional information, visit www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/engineering.

About The City College of New York
Since 1847 The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines.  Over 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; The School of Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture (SAUDLA); The School of Education; The Grove School of Engineering, and The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.  For additional information, visit www.ccny.cuny.edu.