Security Day Focuses on Issues Related to Cybersecurity

Nov. 11, 2016

Security Day 2016Students, faculty, community members and industry professionals gathered for Security Day on Nov. 4, an annual event featuring topics on cybersecurity, presented by experts in different fields of the security arena. The on-campus event, which was held at the Titan Student Union provided an opportunity for audience members to learn about contemporary cybersecurity issues including malware, cloud security, and cyber threats. Featured speakers represented Microsoft, Dropbox, Dell, and Security First Corp. The event was presented by Cal State Fullerton’s (CSUF) College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), and the Center for Cyber Security at CSUF. 

Speaking of the event, ECS Associate Professor, Mikhail Gofman said, “The goal of Security Day is to educate students, faculty, and the broader community about cybersecurity. It gives people a unique opportunity to interact with seasoned cybersecurity professionals and learn about the latest issues in the field. It also gives the ECS Center for Cybersecurity an opportunity to showcase to the public its accomplishments in cybersecurity education, research, and outreach.” 

Dr. Gofman also added, “We hope that students who attend the event will be inspired to pursue cybersecurity careers, or, in the very least, gain awareness of the field's impact on every aspect of our lives. No matter what career path one chooses to pursue, they must make cybersecurity conscious decisions. Otherwise, the consequences can be devastating.” 

While speaker topics garnered much discussion in Q&A sessions, the event also allowed students to network with industry professionals and learn more about transitioning from college into the workforce. Being asked about the value of knowing more than the technical side of cybersecurity, Dovell Bonnett from Microsoft emphasized the importance of learning the business, marketing, financial and “people” side of a role in building a successful career. Bonnett also spoke about passwords, factors of authentication, hacker identity, password security, and biometrics. 

Among other topics was an overview of Dropbox and the security measures the company takes to provide users with a safe and secure experience with the platform. Covering issues such as abuse prevention, and password reuse, Rajan Kapoor, senior manager trust and security at Dropbox stressed that maintaining secure accounts should involve user responsibility and the use of password managers. 

Looking to the event’s future, Dr. Gofman explained, “We hope that as the community realizes the positive impacts of the Security Day event, more companies and individuals will support this endeavor. Ultimately, this will empower us to reach more people and enhance the event's overall quality.”

 The complete list of industry speakers included:

  • Robert Shaw, Dell, SecureWorks CyberSecurity Specialist, "Threat Intelligence to Protect Between Your Endpoints to the Cloud!"
  • David Park, Dell, Western Region Specialist for Endpoint Security, "Zero-ing in on Zero Day With Artificial Intelligence"
  • Rajan Kapoor, Dropbox, Senior Manager of Trust and Security, "Security at Scale: How Dropbox Secures Over 500 Million Users"
  • Matthew Baldy, Security First Corp, Vice President Global Business, “Scaling Quickly & Securely: Achieving Security & Compliance in the Cloud
  • Dovell Bonnett, Microsoft, Founder and CEO of Access Smart, “Cybersecurity’s Weakest Link”

Additionally, members of the center's Offensive Security Society student organization presented on “Aggression Against Cybercrime,” which focused on taking an offensive approach to cybersecurity. 

The idea of Security Day was originally conceived by Dr. Shawn Wang in the Computer Science Department in 2013. It started as a small-scale event and has grown in scale every year, with this year’s being the largest to date. Due to the generosity of sponsors such as Dell and Security First Corp, ECS and the Center for Cyber Security were able to scale-up the 2016 event. 

The ECS Center for Cybersecurity focuses on education, research, and community outreach in the area of cybersecurity. It was created in response to the increasing number and sophistication of cyberattacks affecting millions of individuals, organizations, and government institutions every year. 

U.S. News & World Report ranks the college among the top engineering colleges in the nation for its online graduate programs in software engineering and environmental engineering. The college's departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and three programs in Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Software Engineering offer five bachelor’s degrees and six master’s degrees. A new, four-year integrated B.S.-M.S. degree in computer engineering also is offered to entering freshmen. The college is dedicated to educating and preparing professionals to harness the power and potential of the engineering sciences for the benefit of society, participation in a global market, and to enter the workforce immediately after graduation, pursue advanced degrees or become entrepreneurs.

Photos from Security Day 2016.