How to Talk To a Terrorist at the InfowarCon Event.WASHINGTON -- On September 19-21 in Bethesda, MD at the 2007 InfowarCon (www.infowarcon.com) international conference on Information Warfare Also called "cyberterrorism," it refers to creating havoc by disrupting the computers that manage stock exchanges, power grids, air traffic control and telecommunications. While the term often deals with attacks against a nation, it may also refer to attacks on organizations and the and Cyberterrorism See cyberwar and information warfare. , Ms. MacNulty, will continue her work in teaching government how to get inside the minds of terrorists. "Seek first to understand" is success principle #5 of Stephen R. Covey's runaway best-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He probably didn't ever fathom the U.S. government would be applying his advice to combating terrorism. The latest thinking of cyberwarfare experts is that to truly defeat adversaries we must first deeply understand them. Christine MacNulty, President & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Applied Futures, is one of those experts. "Not only do we not understand our adversaries, we don't really know what we are communicating. The result," MacNulty says, "is conflict. Pure and simple." MacNulty says, "Western naovete is evident because we do not understand the influence that cultural backgrounds have on the ways both we and our adversaries think and make decisions. We do not know what motivates us, let alone them." Winn Schwartau, the founder of InfowarCon, recruited MacNulty to instruct at this year's event. "I have had the good fortune to see Christine at work in the U.S. and in Europe, and she has a startling star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. ability to cut to the core of this issue. The principles she now teaches are more germane ger·mane adj. Being both pertinent and fitting. See Synonyms at relevant. [Middle English germain, having the same parents, closely connected; see german2. than ever, and need serious study." At InfowarCon Information Warriors from around the world will examine Sensors, C4ISR C4ISR Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance C4ISR Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance C4ISR Command Control Communications Computers Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems, Foreign Media Analysis and other forms of data collection. They can tell us What people are doing, How, Where and With whom. "But," Schwartau says, "they cannot tell us Why." MacNulty will pull that all together for a wide audience from government, private sector and more than 30 countries. He praises MacNulty's pioneering work that can help us anticipate what the bad guys will do next. "InfowarCon's attendees are amongst the best and brightest minds from around the world. I'm excited to share my work on these fundamental issues so they can be applied by governments worldwide," said MacNulty. InfowarCon Advisory Board: Dr. Dan Kuehl, National Defense University; Amit Yoran, NetWitness; Howard A. Schmidt, Former White House Cybersecurity Advisor; Mark Rasch, FTI FTI Free thyroxine index, see there ; Dorothy Denning, DoD; Freeman Mendell, InfraGuard; Richard Forno, Infowarrior.org; Lars Nicander, CATS InfowarCon Partners Include: Mandiant, Netwitness, Purifile, Tec Sec, DC3, Homeland Defense Journal, Government Security News, Homeland Defense Week, Officer.com, Continuity Insights, Infraguard, ISSA (Information Systems Security Association, Bellingham, WA, www.issa.org) A membership organization that promotes effective management practices for computer security. Founded in 1982, ISSA has chapters in more than 20 countries and hosts an annual conference. NOVA, Terrorism Research Center and National Defense University. |
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