Conference focuses on IT security
ITS hosts third annual event that highlights K-20 education protection
Computer systems used in education often store large amounts of sensitive, confidential information.
That’s why IT Security Officer Theresa Semmens thinks educating teachers and administrators on security issues facing education is so important.
The third annual information technology security conference, “IT Security: A Call to Action for the Education Community,” is scheduled for Nov. 1-2 at the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo.
“ (The conference is) a wonderful way to bring expertise and opportunity to this region,” Semmens said.
ITS and EduTech are hosting the event, which focuses on IT security in the K-20 education community.
Participants in the conference come from all over North Dakota, Minnesota, parts of South Dakota and Canada, Semmens said.
Speakers featured at the conference include Barbara Chung, chief security adviser for education at Microsoft; Dean W. Chappell III, special agent with the FBI; and Mike Detloff, a detective from the Moorhead Police Department.
In addition to the highlighted speakers, the conference is featuring breakout sessions this year that are geared toward K-12 and higher education, as both have different IT security needs, Semmens said.
Having an affordable conference in the region is important, Semmens said, because many schools don’t have the budget to send their technology leaders to national conferences.
“ It provides continuing education for them, brings them up to date on the latest technologies and allows them to take the information back to their institution or school,” Semmens said.
According to the conference Web site, some topics covered will be acceptable use policy, Microsoft Windows Vista security, Internet safety tools for children, open-source network assessment tools and techniques and voice over Internet Protocol (IP), which are calls or videos sent over the Internet.
The conference has seen an increasingly larger turnout over the past two years.
The first year the conference was held only 65 participants attended.
The next year the number of participants nearly doubled, Semmens said.
This year the conference is held at larger facility because it is expected that more people than the previous years will attend the conference, she said.
In addition to the conference seeing a larger turnout, the conference is also longer than in previous years.
Semmens said the first IT conference was only a day long, but participants requested a longer stay.
The conference is open to everyone and costs $110 to attend.
For more information about the conference, visit www.ndsu.edu/ itsecurity.