Mid-Pacific ICT Center: CyberCalifornia Launch

As we have seen in recent news headlines, security breaches can bring entire organizations, states and countries to their knees. In today's connected world, making security a top priority is no longer a choice - it's a must. As public and private organizations continue to operate within this new era of the Internet, security will become critical to maintaining trust with the public, building company reputation, as well as safeguarding data, IP and critical infrastructure.

California is at the center of the digital revolution that is shaping the world around us. Already a national center of commercial cybersecurity activities, California is home to companies building the cybersecurity products and solutions that are securing commercial businesses, academic institutions and governmental organizations across the globe.

In an effort to help advance the goals and promote the accomplishments of the Governor's Cybersecurity Task Force, CyberTECH, among other state and local leaders, recently launch CyberCalifornia.

CyberCalifornia will organize public-private partnerships in cybersecurity, with the goals of facilitating research and innovation in cybersecurity, educating California businesses about cybersecurity needs and resources, and connecting California's robust workforce development system with the needs of California employers.

Led by its Board of Advisors, CyberCalifornia activities include:
Assisting in the organization of private sector advisory groups by vertical industry such as banking and finance, high technology, agriculture, etc.
Assisting in the development and promotion of cybersecurity career pathways
Partnering with local and regional economic development organizations to inform California's small business community about cybersecurity needs and solutions
Establishing connections between the cybersecurity and Internet of Things sectors through activities such as conferences and media events

To learn more about CyberCalifornia, please contact darin@cyberhivesandiego.org.

Darin Andersen, CEO, CyberUnited, Co-Chair, CyberTECH, Co-Chair, Economic Development Subcommittee, California Cybersecurity Task Force

"CyberCalifornia: Cybersecurity and IoT Gold Rush"

Recently, CyberTECH helped launch CyberCalifornia with other State and local leaders. The initiative is organized in conjunction with the Innovative Hub (iHub) Network, a program administered by the State Office of Economic Development and in partnership with Governor Brown's Cybersecurity Task Force.

Jerry Brown, Governor of California

CyberCalifornia will organize public-private partnerships in cybersecurity to better protect California's critical infrastructure, businesses and citizens from cyber threats, facilitate research and innovation in cybersecurity, educate California businesses about cybersecurity needs and resources, and connect California's robust workforce development system with the needs of California employers.

Center of Cybersecurity and Internet of Things Excellence (CCIoTE)
California is home to the personal computer, the firewall, anti-virus and many other cybersecurity products. Today, California companies are at the forefront of new technologies ushering in the Internet of Things (IoT), the term for the phenomenon where people and things are connected to the Internet, leveraging sensors and real time analytics and cloud technologies.

California's leadership role in advanced technology sectors including autonomous vehicles, biotechnology, precision in medicine and advanced manufacturing, will contribute to the State's continued excellence in cybersecurity and privacy. The powerful combination of cyber and the emergence of these innovative intensive sectors make California the perfect place to build secure next generation technologies.

California has a rapidly growing information technology industry cluster and offers the full spectrum of cybersecurity capabilities. Our Golden State has tremendous assets to keep our Country safe, advance innovation with security and privacy built in and be a beacon for other States in our Nation to follow.

Charles "Chuck" Brooks, Vice President, Government Relations and Marketing, Sutherland Global Services

"Adopting a Cooperative Global Cyber Security Framework to Mitigate Cyber Threats (Before it is too Late)"
The recent OPM cyber breach at the U.S. Government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provided a wakeup call to the seriousness and sophistication of the cyber security threat aimed at both the public and private sectors. The fact is that over 43% of companies had breaches last year (including mega companies such as Home Depot, JPMorgan, and Target). Moreover, the intrusion threats are not diminishing. For example, British Petroleum (BP) faces 50,000 attempts at cyber intrusion every day.

According to the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), cyber related crime now costs the global economy about $445 billion every year. These cyber security breaches demonstrate that there is a continued need for protocols and enhanced collaboration between government and industry.

In 2014 code vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed, Shellshock, Wirelurker, POODLE and other open source repositories caused chaos and harm. The cyber security community responded to those vulnerabilities with "react and patch." Unfortunately, this means of response has been for the most part, a cosmetic or band aid approach.

The cyber security community's posture must change to one of wait and react to that of being proactive and holistic. It is not really a question of which policies, processes and technologies are ready and best, that will always be debatable. Being proactive means adopting a working Industry and Government Global Cyber Security Framework that would include measures for encryption, authentication, biometrics, analytics, automated network security, and a whole host of other topics related to cyber threats.

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LIFARS, Featured CyberTECH Member

LIFARS is a digital forensics and cybersecurity intelligence firm based in New York City. With its history of investigating cybersecurity breaches across a number of industries, LIFARS is uniquely positioned to help increase cybersecurity posture to protect organizations and individuals from real-life hackers and advanced persistent threat actors. By bringing in LIFARS, you can maximize your existing investment into the cybersecurity infrastructure and make sure that your future investments are strategically placed – delivering maximum protection while preserving the productivity of your employees. For these and other reasons, LIFARS was recently ranked as the #2 cybersecurity company in New York Metro area on the Cybersecurity 500 list.

LIFARS WEBSITE

In addition to providing robust security solutions based on best practices and personal hands-on experiences, LIFARS continuously explores the latest innovations in the cybersecurity field and always seeks to find what is shaping tomorrow's industry landscape. In a recent interview with Founder and CTO of LIFARS, Ondrej Krehel, and LIFARS' Digital Forensic Examiner, Paul Kubler, they discussed strategies and policies for cybersecurity in the world today, including common mistakes and how to make them right.

LIFARS INTERVIEW

NXT Robotics is a San Diego-based company that designs and builds service robots to support the increasing needs of the hospitality industry. NXT Robotics' service robot platforms are able to provide delivery, security and guest-related services to customers - all while maintaining a consistent and high degree of quality.

The company's founder, Jeff Debrosse has over 20 years of software engineering, cybersecurity R&D and enterprise product management and deployment experience. "This is an exciting time for NXT Robotics," said Jeff. "With access to the CyberTECH community and its resources, our success is further guaranteed."

The company will be providing CyberTECH's incubator and shared workspace offices, CyberHive and iHive, with its own Nixie. "Your team, tenants and guests will find Nixie to be amazingly pleasant to deal with - not to mention, very useful!" Jeff stated.

"NXT Robotics understands the importance of making cyber part of the foundation. We are thrilled to have NXT Robotics join CyberTECH as a member and look forward to working closely with Jeff and his team." said CyberTECH Co-Chair and Founder, Darin Andersen.

We are proud to recognize NXT Robotics as a featured CyberTECH Member for July 2015.

NXT ROBOTICS WEBSITE

Bird Rock Systems, Featured CyberTECH Member
Bird Rock Systems is a company that has been built on a foundation of exceptional customer service, technology and long-term partnership. Bird Rock Systems excels at deploying the latest enterprise class technologies including: security, routing, switching, traffic management, WAN acceleration, wireless, IP communications, storage area networking, performance computing and virtualization. Bird Rock typically begins a new client engagement by completing a network or security assessment. Their many loyal customers represent enterprise business, casino, university, Fortune 500 and government organizations requiring 'Best in Class' secure technical solutions.

BIRD ROCK SYSTEMS WEBSITE

iWebGate, Featured CyberTECH Member
Founded in Australia in 2004 with global corporate operations in North America, iWebGate has pioneered a new form of virtualization technology - the Virtualization of Network Services. iWebGate's LaunchPad allows organizations to properly and securely segment networks, connectivity and devices, eliminating the need for Firewalls and VPNs as primary security and connectivity solutions. By deploying the iWebGate Workspace Suite, organizations can then integrate security and business applications into the iWebGate LaunchPad transforming them from "enterprise friendly" products into "enterprise ready" solutions. The result is faster, more secure and reliable access to networks and network services.

IWEBGATE WEBSITE

San Diego Venture Group Selects Fhoosh as a 2015 Cool Company
Cybersecurity software development firm FHOOSH, Inc. has been chosen as a "Cool Company" by the San Diego Venture Group (SDVG) for a second year. One of 31 Cool Companies selected this year from over 160 applicants, FHOOSH continues to represent the leading edge of San Diego-area tech innovation.

FHOOSH helps corporations, institutions and government organizations protect and power valuable stored digital information with its cybersecurity platform and productivity software. FHOOSH bankLevel+ cybersecurity safeguards an organization's critical business and customer data from cyber threats by storing it in a state that is useless to hackers. It does this approximately five times faster than storing data unencrypted, with technology that breaks apart, disassociates, separately encrypts, and then disperses the data. The system also quickly notifies network administrators when unauthorized individuals try to access FHOOSH-protected databases, object stores and file systems. FHOOSH implements with existing infrastructure and allows corporate partners to dial in the security, big data/analytics and performance they need. With 15 patents pending, FHOOSH technology has been validated by the foremost cybersecurity response and assessment firm.

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Maggey Felix, Featured CyberTECH Advisor

Maggey Felix specializes in Marketing and Operations with 5+ years of experience in the technology and cybersecurity industry. Her passion for cybersecurity and cutting-edge technologies is shown through her dedication to helping companies better prepare, organize and market their solutions.

Over the past two years, Maggey has worked closely with the CyberTECH organization to support various marketing and operational activities. Her ongoing effort and commitment to CyberTECH makes Maggey an invaluable member of the community.

We are proud to recognize Maggey Felix as the featured CyberTECH Advisor for July 2015.

Julia Scholl, CyberTECH Director of Marketing and Operations

Julia Scholl is a strategic and forward-thinking public relations and marketing professional with over five years of experience working with non-profit and startup organizations. A capable self-starter with excellent organizational and communication skills, Julia is passionate about building and fostering lasting relationships within the CyberTECH community.

As Marketing and Operations Director, Julia will assist with daily operations, provide membership support as well as ongoing support with events, programs, and all other CyberTECH initiatives.

We are excited to welcome Julia to CyberTECH. Please feel free to contact Julia directly at julia@cyberhivesandiego.org.

Jessica Herrmann, CyberTECH Events Coordinator

Jessica Herrmann has over 20 years of experience applying key leadership, communication and problem solving skills within the hospitality industry. As Catering and Events Manager, Jessica has worked with a number of organizations to develop, manage and execute top quality events.

Jessica recently joined CyberTECH as Events Coordinator where she will help with the planning, organization, preparation and execution of CyberTECH events.

Please join us in formally welcoming Jessica to the CyberTECH community.

Upcoming Events
Internet of Things (IoT) Meetup - September 17, 2015

SAM Fest (Startups + Art + Music) - September 23-24, 2015

IoT Startup Table Breakfast - October 13, 2015

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Get Involved!

A key CyberTECH operating principle is collaboration. We are always looking to partner with individuals and organizations looking to get involved in various cyber and IoT initiatives throughout the region and across the globe. Opportunitites include event chair, volunteer, champion, program chair and more. For additional information on how you can support CyberTECH, please contact Julia Scholl.