Wednesday, August 10, 2011

September NICE Workshop to Focus on Engaging Americans in Cyberspace Safety

From NIST Tech Beat: August 2, 2011
Contact: Evelyn Brown
(301) 975-5661

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host the second annual National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Workshop, September 20-22, 2011, at its Gaithersburg, Md., campus. NIST coordinates NICE, a national campaign focused on enhancing cybersecurity in the United States by accelerating the availability of educational and training resources designed to improve the cyber behavior, skills and knowledge of every segment of the population.

The theme of the workshop is “Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity Education—Engaging Americans in Securing Cyberspace.” White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt will deliver a keynote address on September 21. “NICE is just really getting started, so this is a great time for everyone to come together and talk about our goals and priorities,” said NICE National Lead Ernest McDuffie. The draft strategic plan will be issued for public comment in mid-August, 2011, McDuffie said.
The workshop will include two and a half days of interactive discussions focusing on the three goals of the NICE initiative: raising awareness among the American public; broadening the pool of skilled workers capable of supporting a cyber-secure nation; and developing and maintaining an unrivaled, globally competitive cybersecurity workforce. Other presentations include “eCity,” a public-private initiative started in San Diego, Calif. that is expanding to San Antonio, Texas, and Maryland, and student cybersecurity competitions as well as other innovative programs such as repurposing the country’s displaced workforce into cybersecurity jobs.

“Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity Education—Engaging Americans in Securing Cyberspace” is expected to draw hundreds of participants from government, academia and industry as well as small- and medium-sized business professionals and educators at the K-12, community college and university levels.

Universities are working with workshop organizers to participate. Students in cybersecurity programs will be invited to participate in the student webinar portion of the workshop. University programs interested in participating should contact Magdalena Benitez at benitez@nist.gov.

More information on the workshop, including an agenda and registration form is available at http://csrc.nist.gov/nice/. Registration runs through Sept. 12, 2011.
Reporters interested in attending the workshop should contact Evelyn Brown, evelyn.brown@nist.gov, or phone (301) 975-566

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