ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) says the 23rd annual NYS Cyber Security Conference, held June 8-9, attracted more than 1,300 cybersecurity professionals.

Those attending the virtual event were part of state and local government, academia, and the private sector. They discussed “emerging developments” in the industry and best practices designed to improve the security of New York State, ITS said in a June 8 news release. 

ITS describes the conference as “New York’s premier cyber security event.” The conference sought to focus on New York’s “longstanding commitment” to protect New Yorkers and businesses from cyber threats and improve the safety and security of the State. 

ITS hosted the event in partnership with the University at Albany School of Business and the New York State Forum, Inc.

“In this digital age, cyber security is of paramount importance,” Angelo (Tony) Riddick, New York State’s chief information officer, said. “Industry partners at the New York State Cyber Security Conference help us keep pace with the trends in cyber security. We must all work together to keep New York safe from cyber threats.”

The 2021 conference featured more than 50 sessions, many of them including interactive discussions led by subject-matter experts in government and the private sector. FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia, whose company discovered the Solar Winds hack, delivered the opening keynote address.

The University at Albany says the conference is key to broadening the knowledge base of cyber threats and solutions.

“This conference is instrumental in improving awareness of challenges and new developments in the field to a broad audience. Now, more than ever we need to train and educate a new generation of cyber security professionals to protect national secrets and intellectual property from our determined and tenacious adversaries who are constantly probing our defenses for vulnerabilities,” Sanjay Goel of the School of Business at the University at Albany, said. “We are thrilled to cosponsor the premier cyber security event in the Northeast and work towards our collective goal of making New York and our nation safer.”

Mario Musolino, executive director of The NYS Forum, Inc., added, “Every day there are countless cyberattacks, aimed at government, industry and individuals,” “It is important that we understand what is happening and make sure that we are protecting our valuable assets. This conference is a unique opportunity for all of us to learn from each other regardless of our level of expertise.”      

U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) believes that cybersecurity is a pre-eminent national-security issue and government and industry must work together to prevent future attacks.

Katko is a ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. On June 9, the Congressman who represents the greater Syracuse area spoke to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program to preview that day’s full committee hearing on the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. That early-May attack resulted in 5,500 miles of pipeline being shut down, causing large disruptions to gasoline deliveries on the East Coast. 

Katko’s office released excerpts from the interview. In it, he noted that the nation’s systems are “vulnerable,” and the U.S. isn’t doing enough to fight back.

“We need to do a much better job in this country of preparing for cyberattacks and anticipating what can happen and be ready for it,” Katko told CNBC, noting that the hearing was intended to make sure people understand what’s at stake. 

On the topic of investing in cybersecurity, Katko said best practices are “critically important” in both the private sector and in government.

“Let’s start with the private sector. You need to invest in cybersecurity. That’s going to cost money. We don’t know how much Colonial Pipeline invested in actual cybersecurity, but every company in this nation probably does not invest enough. On the government side, we’ve got to do the same. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is completely overwhelmed trying to deal with ransomware attacks and cyberattacks. Colonial Pipeline is one of the latest in a long line of those. We need to make sure CISA is properly beefed up,” said Katko.

He also discussed preparing for attacks, noting that lawmakers “need to make sure” the Biden Administration and succeeding administrations have cybersecurity infrastructure plans in place so they can anticipate attacks and be ready when critical infrastructure is attacked — “much like we did in the Cold War.” 

“We have to have the same type of security plan ready for cyberattacks and ransomware attacks,” Katko said.

In dealing with the perpetrators, Katko told CNBC has what he calls the “five pillars,” and the fifth pillar is “basically whacking the bad guys.” The Colonial Pipeline attack “emanated” from Russia, and Katko said he finds it “very hard to believe” that the Russian government didn’t at least know about the entity involved because it was a “very sophisticated attack.” 

In the interview, Katko also discussed following the money.

“Cryptocurrency has been a game changer for the criminal element. I was a federal organized crime prosecutor for 20 years. The hardest thing for criminals to do was to spend their money to hide the money that they made from their illicit activities. I applaud the FBI because they were able to chase the cryptocurrency trail probably for one of the first times on this Colonial Pipeline attack and get that money back. That needs to be the norm, not the exception, and we need to be able to do that going forward,” he said.