Cybercrime continues be more prevalent and damaging to those impacted by it, requiring organizations of all sizes to become more aware, vigilant and skilled at preventing and detecting potential threats.

The upcoming SWLA Cyber Security Summit on July 12 and 13 at the Civic Center in Lake Charles will provide advanced education and insight from national experts in the cyber security field to local business owners, managers, IT professionals, government officials and other attendees who need to enhance their knowledge base in this critical area of today’s business environment.  The event is free of charge, but pre-registration is required.

The event title sponsored by Global Data Systems from Lafayette and hosted by the SWLA Cyber Club in partnership with AOP Inc. in Lake Charles, will include the following activities as well as coffee and lunch provided by local restaurants and food trucks.

Event Schedule:

Wednesday, July 12

Noon-5 p.m. Breakout Sessions at the Lake Charles Civic Center

6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Opening Ceremonies & SWLA Cyber Cup Challenge at Game2Life

Thursday, July 13

8 a.m.—5 p.m. Main Summit Conference at the Lake Charles Civic Center

 “Global Data Systems is honored to be the Title Sponsor for the upcoming SWLA Cyber Security Summit in Lake Charles,” said Bob Miller, Chief Operating Officer of Global Data Systems. “GDS has worked extremely hard over the last two years to add an advanced Cyber Security practice to the historically successful Managed Service Provider that GDS represents. All of that work has culminated in our wanting to share what we have learned with the business community and other cybersecurity professionals.”

Miller added that attendees can expect GDS to provide content that will be practical knowledge for C-Level, Lead Network, and Cybersecurity professionals. We are excited to learn from the other participants, and proud to be a part of the continued success of this event.

Other scheduled sessions include presentations from the FBI, NSA, AOP, BLOKWORX, Gulf Coast Forensics and more. Vendor booths from cyber security and software companies will also be part of the event, allowing attendees to speak directly to company representatives. New this year are deep dive classroom sessions to provide broader coverage of topics facing IT and security professional today, as well as what tools are available to detect and prevent looming threats.

 “This will be our third year to conduct a Cyber Security Summit,” says Joshua Tannehill, Senior Manager, Lumen Trust & Safety and member of the SWLA Cyber Club.  “What started off with just a little over 20 attendees in 2021, grew to more than 120 people in 2022, and this year we are expecting to nearly double that. In light of the incredible response, we moved to a much larger venue and expanded into two days to incorporate more small group discussions to help businesses and vendors address their specific concerns and challenges.”

In addition to the breakout sessions, day one will also include a Cyber Cup Challenge presented by AOP Inc.

“We wanted a fun and relevant networking opportunity for attendees,” said Brett Dering, Chief Technology Officer with AOP Inc. “Participants in the first SWLA Cyber Cup Challenge will be immersed in scenarios that are designed to replicate the day-to-day tasks of professionals in the field. These can span a variety of disciplines and could require incident response, encrypt/decrypt communications, defense against malicious attackers are more.”

Tannehill says the Southwest Louisiana region remains a prime target for cybercrime at all levels, due in part to ongoing disaster recovery, as well as the large industrial base. “That’s why having the Summit here is needed, and judging by the response, organizations in the region realize this too.”

Along with an increase in cyber-attacks in recent years, Tannehill says there is also a critical shortage of trained cybersecurity analysts. “There are many jobs in this field and we hope that and event like this one will also serve to increase awareness of the opportunities available.”