San Diego set to become cyber security leader

Cyber crime is notoriously hard to track, but experts agree that threats to online transactions of all types grow yearly, and shoring up defenses against these threats is paramount.

According to the anti-virus software company Symantec, 87 percent of e-mails sent in 2009 were spam, and 2 percent of spam contained malicious software or viruses — up 900 percent from 2008.

This continuing increase in cyber threats is part of what motivated a cyber security collaboration conference  between Internet security professionals and more than 120 of San Diego and Baja California’s government, military, non-profit, and business leaders Wednesday at the SDSU Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.

Titled “Securing our eCity – Model City Project,” the conference was touted as the first international and inter-professional collaboration of its type, and the first step towards organizing San Diego as a hub for cyber security.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who attended the conference, said that while crime is statistically down from last year, cyber crime in San Diego has probably gone up at the same rate other crime has dropped.

The fear of cyber crime is why the discussion of security is important, especially in the 21st Century.

“We all use computers in today’s world, we all need to be a part of that security chain” said Darin Anderson of San Diego-based ESET Security Software, a company involved with the conference.

Anderson said that San Diego, with its unique mix of government collaboration, technology and military presence is a prime spot for becoming a national model for cyber security.

He said the purpose of the conference is to inform the necessary community leaders as to what a cyber-secure San Diego would look like and how to organize it.

U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt said the ultimate goal of the working group is to create a cultural shift in the community, affecting how every San Diegan behaves on computers in their home and at work. She compared the shift in cyber secure awareness to wearing seatbelts.

SDSU Provost Nancy Marlin and Baja California secretary of public security, Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, sign a cyber security agreement to share cross-boarder resources. (Photo by Steven Bartholow)

“Twenty years ago, you would drive around not thinking about seatbelts; now we get in the car and forget we do it sometimes,” said Hewitt. “We have got to learn that same muscle memory when it comes to cyber security.”

Conference leaders hope the event is the first step to spreading an awareness of cyber security from San Diego to cities across the nation.

The conference included SDSU and Baja, California officials signing the first international cyber security collaboration agreement to securely share cross-border resources in the name of public safety.

SDSU Provost Nancy Marlin said the signing symbolizes a new relationship that will improve communication and collaboration in everything from daily interactions between San Diego and Baja, California to disaster situations.

Steven Bartholow is SDNN’s multimedia editor and political reporter. You can follow him on twitter.

Tags: agreement, alumni center, Baja California, bill gore, Business, collaboration, cooperation, cyber crime, cyber security, Darin Anderson, ESET, international, Internet, Karen Hewitt, leaders, malware, mayor sanders, Military, model city, National, Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center, police, ruben barrales, SDNN, SDSU, securing our eCity, software, SPAWAR, stay safe online, Uncategorized, virus

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Crime, Local News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.