April 1, 2019

This paid piece is sponsored by SDN Communications.

When burglars break into a house, they don’t alert anyone who may be home. Cyberthieves operate in a similar fashion. They prefer to go unnoticed when they’re stealing valuable information from business networks.

“The No. 1 weakness that we run into consistently is the lack of ability to detect cybercriminal activity inside their firewall,” said Robert Dowling of Dynetics.

He’s the cyber-risk practice lead at the applied science and information technology company in Huntsville, Ala.; cyber services are among its specialties.

“We tell folks that cybercriminals aren’t magical. Their activities are detectable. But you have to know what you’re looking for,” Dowling said.

And you have a chance to see how it’s done at the 2019 Sioux Falls Cybersecurity Conference on April 18 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Dynetics’ cybersecurity experts Greg Jackson and Craig Mitchell will perform a live hacking demonstration at the event hosted by the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Cybersecurity is a concern not only for IT professionals but also for business owners, executives, HR professionals and others,” said Jason Ball, president and CEO of the chamber. “This conference is a chance for people in all types of roles to gain some practical skills and foundational knowledge that they can use to protect their business from cyberthreats.”

“The point of the demonstration is to make people aware of how easily traditional cybersecurity controls can be defeated with social engineering and why it’s essential to have additional preventive controls inside the firewall as well as the ability to detect activity inside your environment,” Dowling said.

Identifying threats may require using tools such as Endpoint Detection and Response technology.

As Dynetics’ presentation likely will demonstrate, people typically are the weakest link in any cybersecurity strategy. Cyberthieves often trick employees at the organizations they’re targeting to get into systems.

Other presenters at the half-day conference include best-selling author Bryce Austin. He’s giving the keynote address and has firsthand experience dealing with cybersecurity crises. His book “Secure Enough?” addresses 20 cybersecurity questions for business owners and executives.

Austin said providing good cybersecurity is rarely a technology problem — it’s a leadership problem.

“Executives need to fund and support cybersecurity programs. They need to promote cybersecurity best practices. They need to have cybersecurity as one of the core principles required to sustain a viable business,” he writes in his book.

Cybersecurity can be a competitive advantage for a company, according to Austin.

“One of the largest competitive advantages that any company can have is the trust of its customers. Customers that trust your organization are less concerned about price and are more tolerant of glitches or small issues. They are more loyal to you when a new competitor emerges,” Austin writes. “Trust drives emotion, and emotion drives buying behavior.”

Other speakers include Bill Walker of ID Shield, who will talk about identity theft, and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota.

The conference will run from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Tickets are available for $85 per person. A limited number of $40 tickets for students also are available. To register, visit the 2019 Sioux Falls Cybersecurity Conference website.

In addition to SDN Communications’ gold sponsorship of the event, several other businesses have stepped up to serve as silver sponsors:

• First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard
• Eide Bailly
• Marsh & McLennan Agency/Howalt+McDowell Insurance
• KELOLAND Media Group

SDN Communications is a regional leader in providing broadband connectivity and cybersecurity services to businesses in communities such as Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Worthington, Minn., and the surrounding areas.