March 28, 2024

Panels on Cyber Security

“The Future of Cyber Security and Global Journalism” will be the topic of two panels sponsored by the OPC and hosted by Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering in Pittsburgh.

The panels, supported by the Ford Foundation, will be divided between the world of hackers and the ramifications of Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency leaks. Both panels will address the impacts of cyber security on journalism. The first will deal with the security precautions many journalists must take to protect themselves, their work and their sources. News organizations are even dealing with what may be state- sponsored attacks on their websites. The second panel will discuss what changes may be coming in cyber security and how that could impact journalism, since national security is often cited as a reason to muzzle or even prosecute journalists.

The first panel is “Hackers Everywhere: Is the Internet Our Friend?” From the cyber attacks on Target to widespread identity theft and the facilitation of illegal global commerce, hackers and Bitcoin-enabled denizens of the web are stealing everywhere. How big is the problem and what can be done about it?

The panel will include :

  • FBI Agent J. Keith Mularski who runs Cyber Squad 16 in Pittsburgh. Mularski investigated national security matters for seven years in Washington including work on the Robert Hanssen espionage case and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
  • Andrew Conte, Investigative Reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, who reports on cyber-space and Internet crooks.
  • Nicholas Christin, an expert at information system security at Carnegie Mellon
  • The Second panel will be “The Big Picture: The National Security Agency After Snowden”

  • David Shribman, Executive Editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will moderate.
  • Joining by live video conference will be Ben Wizner: Attorney for Edward Snowden and Director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project.
  • Carnegie Mellon CyLab Director Virgil Gligor, who is known for his scholarship in computer and network security.
  • David A. Harris, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh, an expert on privacy and national security.

The first panel will be held from 5 to 6:15 p.m., the second panel from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. Both panels will take place at the first floor Deck room of the Collaborative Innovation Building, 4720 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.