Georgia Tech Information Security Center Raises Awareness of Online Identity Management; Information Security Expert Howard A. Schmidt Gives Keynote Address on a National Response to Online Identity Management Challenges.

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC), a national leader in information security research and education, yesterday hosted the Thomas E. Noonan Lecture on Information Security and the Identity Management Summit, which examined the security challenges for businesses and consumers in managing identification information over the Internet. Executives from major corporations with a stake in online identity management, including Authis, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), CipherTrust, Equifax (NYSE: EFX), RSA Security and Siemens (NYSE: SI), provided Summit attendees with a "reality check" on the current and future state of identity management.

"One of the fastest-growing and most damaging information security breaches involves the loss or theft of personal information over the Internet, and the fraudulent uses of that information by unauthorized individuals or groups," said Dr. Mustaque Ahamad, director of GTISC. "At the Identity Management Summit, GTISC assembled leaders from the corporate and academic worlds to raise awareness about current and future issues affecting online identity management and discuss ways to better protect the personal information of consumer and enterprise Internet users. We wish to thank the speakers for participating in the Summit and sharing their expertise with our audience."

More than 200 corporate executives, industry leaders and technologists from across the country attended the Identity Management Summit, keynoted by Howard A. Schmidt, a visiting professor at GTISC and former Special Advisor to the White House for Cyberspace Security. Schmidt's keynote address focused on starting a national dialogue on the next generation of identity management in order to better protect businesses and consumers from the loss or theft of personal information over the Internet.

"I have spent the majority of my career working with the government and corporate sectors to find a balanced approach to sharing the responsibility of online security between business and government," said Schmidt. "The corporate, government and academic leaders of the information security industry must band together and arm all Internet users with the necessary tools to protect their online identity. Otherwise, the trust that users have in the online experience will erode."

Following Schmidt's address, representatives from Authis, Bank of America, Equifax, Georgia Tech College of Computing, RSA Security and Siemens participated in a panel to educate the audience on the state of identity management. Moderated by Dr. Paul Judge, chief technology officer from CipherTrust, the panelists debated existing problems and shortcomings of current identity management systems and discussed future deployments, solutions and technologies designed to safeguard online identification information from vulnerabilities and attacks.

"Raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities presented by online identity management is a key first step in confronting the problem and finding solutions," said Judge. "We applaud GTISC and the other organizations represented here today on their continued commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the online experience."

For more information about the Identity Management Summit and GTISC, please visit http://www.gtisc.gatech.edu. To watch a pre-recorded Web cast of the event, please visit http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/streaming/gtisc.

About Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC)

The Georgia Tech Information Security Center, a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, is an interdisciplinary center involving faculty from the College of Computing, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Public Policy.