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    Michigan National Guard participates in North American International Cyber Summit

    Michigan National Guard participates in North American International Cyber Summit

    Photo By Col. William Humes | Joe Adams, vice president of research and cyber security at Merit and the director of...... read more read more

    DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES

    11.17.2014

    Story by Lt. Col. William Humes 

    Michigan National Guard

    LANSING, Mich. – Members of the Michigan Army and Air National Guard took part in the third annual North American International Cyber Conference held yesterday at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Mich.

    Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais, director of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Adjutant General for the Michigan Guard contributed to opening the event by addressing the audience from Riga, Latvia, via Skype alongside the Latvian Chief of Defense, Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube.

    “Cyber security is an international issue,” said Vadnais. “Working together with our partners in Latvia allows us to learn from each other and be prepared for an attack from state actors.”

    “We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies to defend against cyber attacks,” Graube concurred with Vadnais.

    Following the introductions, a panel discussion was convened for the audience. Among the panel members were Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, commander of U.S. Army Cyber Command and David Devries, the acting principal deputy chief information officer for the Department of Defense. Cardon highlighted the importance of Michigan’s cyber warriors.

    “The National Guard and Reserves have a tremendous role in cyber defense,” said Cardon. “Michigan is a fore runner in those efforts.” Devries, a native of west Michigan, was also impressed with the skills of the National Guard. “We are coming to grips with the idea that the National Guard members are dealing with state issues one day and national issues the next,” said Devries.

    Governor Rick Snyder also addressed the audience during the conference, using the opportunity to restate his support for Michigan’s Cyber Civilian Corps, a cyber-incident rapid-response team comprised of state government, National Guard and other public and private partners.

    “The Civilian Cyber Corps is modeled like the National Guard,” said Snyder. “Citizens who could be called up to defend their country,” Snyder continued. “This has worked for the National Guard for 378 years and it can work for us.”

    The conference provided an opportunity to showcase a cyber competition with two Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3) teams from Cobo Center as well as teams from the Michigan National Guard in Battle Creek, the California National Guard, and the Latvian National Guard Cyber Division. Teams competed for control of an online city called “Alphaville.” Dr. Joe Adams, vice president of research and cyber security at Merit and the director of the Michigan Cyber Range explained the benefits of the contained network.

    “The fictitious online city of Alphaville allows players to try all kinds of hacking and defending techniques without impacting the actual internet or putting actual systems at risk,” said Adams.

    The cyber conference is sponsored by Governor Rick Snyder and provides an opportunity for ideas to be exchanged across public and private cyber defense sectors.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 11.17.2014
    Date Posted: 11.18.2014 16:39
    Story ID: 148174
    Location: DETROIT, MI, US

    Web Views: 116
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN