State IT chief: Maintain ‘maniacal focus’ on cybersecurity

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Individuals and entities should have a “maniacal focus” on cybersecurity, which includes having strong passwords and backing up data regularly, according to Gary Vance, chief information security officer with the Arkansas Division of Information Systems.

Vance was part of a panel discussion Tuesday (Oct. 8) on the second day of the two-day 2024 Cybersecurity Summit presented by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and the Forge Institute. The first day’s speakers included Jen Easterly, director of the federal government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Vance and James Gentry, Fort Smith’s chief information officer, emphasized the importance of having complex, unique passwords for each site one visits. Gentry said he has 400-500 passwords organized through an encrypted password manager, an application that can be obtained at an app store. Vance said complex passwords close the door on bad actors trying to assess a user’s data.

State IT chief: Maintain ‘maniacal focus’ on cybersecurity

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin welcomes more than 1,600 to Cybersecurity Summit featuring federal CISA Director

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement at the opening of his Cybersecurity Summit at the Statehouse Convention Center in cooperation with the FORGE Institute and featuring the Director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly:

“You don’t have to look far to understand why cybersecurity matters. Look on the front page of today’s newspaper about China hacking three American telecom companies. Today, so much of our life is connected to each other: government, individuals, businesses, for example. I don’t think anyone can question the need for cybersecurity now.

“There are a lot of people out there who want to do you harm. Some are individuals that aren’t that smart and will get caught quickly. Some of them are highly sophisticated entities—such as criminal cartels—that want to do you harm. Some of them are aggressive nation-state actors, including China, Russia and Iran. If you have a home computer and a printer, and it’s connected to the Internet, you need to be cyber-secure. If you’re a big company or a small company, you need to be cyber-secure.

“When it comes to cybersecurity, we are only as strong as our weakest link. Success on this front requires a collective defense built on cooperation and collaboration.”

In addition to the opening chat between Griffin and Easterly about the role of CISA and tools being provided to Arkansas, speakers on the first day of the two-day summit included Congressman French Hill (AR-02), member of the House Intelligence Committee; Senator Tom Cotton (AR), member of the Senate Intelligence Committee; and Lee Watson, founder of the FORGE Institute. Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) will be the opening speaker on the second day of the summit on October 8.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin at 2024 Cybersecurity Summit in Little Rock, AR

Attorney General Griffin announces cybersecurity summit in October

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Attorney General Tim Griffin announced Tuesday (May 21) that he will host a Cybersecurity Summit October 7-8, 2024, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock at no cost to attendees.

The summit will feature the Director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly, as the keynote speaker.

“While there will be plenty of Arkansas-specific concerns addressed, this much-needed summit will have national and international appeal as we bring in top experts in the field of cybersecurity. I am particularly thrilled that Jen Easterly, Director of CISA, will serve as our keynote speaker. I’ve known Jen for a long time, and there is no one in government more knowledgeable than her on the topic of cybersecurity,” Griffin said.

AG Griffin announces cybersecurity summit in October