Skip the navigation

The security community learns how to schmooze like the mainstream

By Deborah Radcliff
August 4, 2000 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - PHILADELPHIA -- The CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University here has long had the ear of Congress in matters of computer information security, but last Wednesday was a first in terms of CERT's politicking -- it held a good old-fashion cocktail party at a national convention.

Often thought of as the domain of lobbyists and spin doctors, CERT served up to 200 lawmakers, delegates and business leaders on a second-floor conference room of the PNC Bank. Many of those in attendance had to make their way through the police barricades on the streets of Philadelphia in response to demonstrations sparked by the Republican National Convention.

"With all the national and international parties held during these reception hours, a turn-out like this is pretty good," said Ron Plesco, who turned down a Pennsylvania Delegation reception to attend the CERT event.

Plesco, director of policy for the Pennsylvania State Police, said that by showing up at high-profile political events like these, CERT is helping to further galvanize private/public cooperation over the volatile realm of information security. And it also goes far to help CERT raise much-needed grant funding to launch new programs like Carnegie Mellon's Institute for Survivable Systems and National Cyber Forensics Training Center

Not to be left out of this political back-scratching game is the Pittsburg Regional Alliance (PRA) -- think of it as a statewide consortium of chambers of commerce. The PRA is actively pushing Pennsylvania cities as high-tech growth corridors, so by co-hosting several tech parties during the convention, the PRA is getting the exposure it needs to promote the area as a technical hotbed to both lawmakers and prospective technology companies, says PRA representative Dominique Argento.

CERT Director Rich Pethia said the main reason for accepting the PRA's invitation to co-host the reception coinciding with the Republican convention was to raise awareness among influential members of government who CERT normally doesn't reach.

Pethia said he was encouraged by the turnout, and and by the level of sophistication he perceived among attendees, including the state attorney general, FBI members and business people.

"They weren't just asking surface-level questions. They asked for our perceptions of some of the issues with respect to Internet security, the need for international cooperation, and the relationship between security and privacy," Pethia explained.

During the reception, Pethia gave a short presentation that covered the history of digitization, digital signature legislation and privacy.

"I think we got the [political] exposure we wanted," said Pethia, who added that CERT won't attend the Democratic NationalConvention in Los Angeles from Aug. 14 to 17 because the group wasn't invited. "What I was encouraged with is, if this was party time, when the talking started nobody left," Pethia said.

Read more about Gov't Legislation/Regulation in Computerworld's Gov't Legislation/Regulation Topic Center.



Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Gov't Legislation/Regulation White Papers
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
X-Ray of the PCI Process-4 Proactive Steps
This white paper from Forrester Research Inc., helps break PCI into understandable components. Security and risk professionals will gain knowledge and insight into...
All Gov't Legislation/Regulation White Papers
Gov't Legislation/Regulation Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All Gov't Legislation/Regulation Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs