Dutchess County Hosts Inaugural Hudson Valley Cyber Security Summit
Nearly 300 attend event held at Marist College January 15th

Poughkeepsie... Nearly 300 attendees, representing community organizations, municipal governments and agencies, and private companies from 18 counties across New York State gathered at the Nelly Goletti Theater at Marist College this morning for the inaugural Hudson Valley Cyber Security Summit, hosted by County Executive Marc Molinaro and the County's Office of Central and Information Services and sponsored by Marist College.

County Executive Molinaro said, “Dutchess County remains a leader in technology innovation and we understand the importance of increased preparedness and security as technology continues to connect us all. We are grateful to Marist College for joining us in hosting this important dialogue and recognizing that these attacks do not just affect large corporations, especially following recent cyber security breaches to government agencies such as the Los Angeles County Department of Health, Maryland Department of Labor, and FEMA, among others. With a single cyber security breach possibly costing a municipality upwards of $2.3 million to recover from, it is our responsibility to protect citizens’ private information and be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars by preparing for and protecting against possible cyber-attacks.”

Geoffrey Brackett, Marist's Executive Vice President, said in his opening remarks, “Marist has a long history of technological excellence in its research and operations, and has even helped to incubate cyber security companies now in operation internationally. Of course, at the center of our success, is our now 30-year partnership with IBM in our Joint Study Program. We thank Dutchess County Government for coordinating this event on such an important topic and are proud to support further growth and innovation within the cyber security field.”

Marist College is one of the few colleges in the nation to offer a cyber security major and, through its Security Operations Center (SOC), which opened in 2018, offers students a hands-on learning experience. At the SOC, students and faculty monitor global cyber-attacks in real-time and can track the attackers to understand, anticipate, and help prevent future activity.

The half-day summit featured four panel discussions on topics including what to do in the event of a cyber-attack; cyber security insurance and compliance; building an effective cyber security plan; and learning effective response through a simulated cyber-attack. Panelists were experts in the information and technology, cyber security, and risk management fields from both public and private sector agencies such as the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, New York State Police, IBM, and SUNY Albany, among others. Throughout the event, attendees also had the opportunity to network and learn more about the available tools and resources as well as law enforcement efforts from agencies participating in the Cyber Security Innovation Lane information fair held outside the theater at the College.

Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Services Commissioner Glenn R. Marchi, PhD., said, “Our Office of Central and Information Services remains committed to technological innovation and security preparedness. We are proud to work with Marist College and our partners across the State to bring these important tools and resources to community leaders who are on the front line of protecting their organization or municipality against cyber threats.”

For more information, please contact Dutchess County Office of Central & Information Services at (845) 486-2450 or visit DutchessNY.gov.