WATERVILLE, MAINE, January 2020 – In today’s climate of cyber-hackers intercepting online payments, accessing home security cameras, penetrating company firewalls and obtaining sensitive personal and client information, it’s critical to understand what you need to be doing in order to protect yourself, your customers, your family, and your business.
Thomas College’s Harold Alfond® Institute for Business Innovation and WEX, a leading financial technology service provider headquartered in Maine, are collaborating to bring cybersecurity experts from Thomas College, state and federal government and other leading technology companies for Cybersecurity Safety at Home, Work and Play on March 12 at Thomas College in Waterville. Attendance is open to the public and free. Registration is available online at wwwold.thomas.edu/plugged-in.
The event is
for individuals, businesses, technology professionals and students to learn
more about the increasing threat to personal and professional data.
Cybersecurity experts will help attendees identify and understand the
fast-changing landscape of cyber and the roles everyone must place in
monitoring overall safety.
One of the experts speaking is WEX Chief Information Security Officer, Michael
Leonhirth.
“The
Cybersecurity threat landscape is rapidly evolving with threat actors becoming
more sophisticated, motivations becoming more diverse, and attack vectors
becoming more distributed and varied,” said Leonhirth. “This presentation will
explore some of the countermeasures and controls available to help combat these
risks – and protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of
critical information assets.”
Leonhirth is an information security and risk management executive with more than 25 years of information security, risk management, IT auditing, project management, and business operations experience. He has extensive experience in the financial services industry including security strategies to mitigate internal and external threats, in-sourcing/out-sourcing, managed services, Cloud migration, Board and executive management presentations, and execution of constantly evolving security capabilities. He is also responsible for addressing the critical risks inherent with the use of technology that supports business operations and the corporate mission.
“Your pre-teen, yourself, and your large corporation are not safe and there are many traps placed making it too easy for you to make an innocent mistake. Machines seeking to do harm and harvest your money do not avoid New England, Maine or you,” said Thomas College professor and nationally recognized cybersecurity expert Frank Appunn. “This conference of down-to-earth experts will address things you want to protect at home, play, and at work. Leading presenters from young to old will provide short and specific reviews that you can use to reduce risks and losses. Examples include ransomware, incidents, crises, TikTok, intellectual property theft, fraud, bad email, and website scams that can do you harm. We have no place to hide, we need to defend ourselves.”
More information and registration is available online at wwwold.thomas.edu/plugged-in or call 207-859-1159.
About Thomas College: Thomas College has been preparing students for success in their personal and professional lives for over 125 years. Thomas College nurtures the unique potential within each student. Our Guaranteed Job Program, 3-year accelerated offerings in all undergraduate degrees/masters in four-years, individualized advising, career counseling, and our Innovation Centers in Business and Education meets a student’s determination to succeed with the direction, confidence, and tools to realize the highest version of themselves. From the classroom to community activities, or on the athletics field with our 17 varsity sports, Thomas College provides a personalized experience that prepares you for the workplace of tomorrow. Data reported by the New York Times ranks Thomas second in Maine and in the top 13 percent of all higher education institutions in the U.S. for upward mobility of its graduates, and U.S. News & World Report ranks us #8 among colleges in the Northeast. For more information, visit wwwold.thomas.edu or contact MacKenzie Riley Young at pr@thomas.edu or 207-859-1313. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.