WMU information technology conference to explore security, privacy

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Business, academic and government leaders will address information security and privacy topics in business, industry, healthcare, government and education during the 11th Western Michigan IT Forum next month at Western Michigan University.

The annual conference begins at 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in the Fetzer Center, following breakfast and registration at 7:15 a.m.

The event is put on by the WMU Department of Business Information Systems in the Haworth College of Business and offers keynote addresses and sessions addressing this year's theme, "Information Security, Privacy and Trust."

The opening presentation is sure to generate interest and will feature Daniel Lohrmann, immediate past chief of security officer for the state of Michigan, who now serves as chief security officer for Security Mentor Inc.

Daniel Lohrmann

Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist and author. During his career, he has served global organizations in the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities, receiving numerous national awards including CSO of the Year, Public Official of the Year and Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader.

Following Lohrmann's opening remarks, Peter Romness, business development manager for Cybersecurity, Cisco Systems Inc., will discuss cybersecurity in the public sector. Romness has been helping government clients achieve their missions for more than 30 years at companies such as Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T and Panasonic. He is now focused on helping protect government networks from cybersecurity threats.

The group will also celebrate 10 years of telecommunications and information management education at WMU during a luncheon program, which includes a special presentation by WMU's chief technology officer, Tom Wolf.

Additional sessions

Additional sessions include:

• Paper presentations on information security, privacy, policies and practices.
• Industry session: Best Practices in Information Security.
• Plenary session: Information Security, Privacy and Trust.

For more information and to register, visit www.westernmichiganITforum.com or call the conference hotline, (269) 387-5411.

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