Is my TV talking to Russians?

Do refrigerators really need an internet connection?

Are robots going to put us all out of work?

These were but a few of the questions prompted by speeches and panel discussions at Regent University’s inaugural cybersecurity summit Feb. 15.

The lineup for the first session – which had a packed house in the main theater at the school’s Performing Arts Center – included executives from Google, Cybint, Hewlett Packard, the FBI, GE Healthcare, Eastern Virginia Medical School, GRIMM and Regent.

The discussions centered on cybersecurity challenges in every aspect of life including business, government, health care and home.

The sold-out second session and luncheon featured Kevin Mitnick, a former hacker who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. After a five-year prison stint, he became a “white hat” hacker, or one considered ethical.

Now the CEO of security consulting company, Mitnick entertained the audience with displays of cyber legerdemain and a rollicking rendition of his life, from his start as a “phone phreaker,” to life on the run to respected businessman. He showed for example, how to quickly steal basic information from an employee identity card.

Ian Green, a Google executive and engineering manager, opened his keynote address with the startling figure that 2017 marked the year the number of connected devices exceeded the number of humans on the planet.

“So this begs the question, how do we scale to meet the demands of an ever increasingly connected world?” Green asked.

Read the rest of the event review at the source.

Source: Inside Business