The industry, government and scientific research workshop titled, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Embedded Information Assurance (IA) Workshop, with the theme “The Nexus of IA & AI” took place at the School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University on Friday, 25 October 2019, and addressed a large number of Information Assurance issues and Artificial Intelligence Challenges.
Dr. Cliff Wang, Computing Sciences Division Chief, US Army Research Office set the stage for the Workshop, describing the challenges the Army and other government agencies are trying to address every day from locations around the globe. Even challenged each of the panelists and participants to use the workshop to address additional challenges and ways in which artificial intelligence could be used to provide a more secure future for all of our information.
FIU President Mark Rosenberg introduced the Keynote Speaker, by emphasizing the importance of Information Assurance and cybersecurity and FIU’s commitment to research in the area across the University through the University’s Emerging Preeminent Program in Cybersecurity https://cybersecurity.fiu.edu/ and through SCIS’s Center for Cyber Infrastructure Education and Research for Trust and Assurance or CIERTA, https://cyber.cs.fiu.edu/ .
Keynote Speaker Dr. Angela Landress, Cyber Innovations Program Manager from the Defense Information Systems Agency in Washington, D.C., and a proud FIU Alumna discussed new technological innovations that offer a more secure and efficient future, especially for government workers who are currently restricted from using cell phones and handheld devices in many locations. As the lead innovations integrator, Dr. Landress was able to collaborate with, and share lessons learned and innovative practices with everyone in attendance. She shared the DISA Technology Roadmap to provide an always-connected, frictionless secure environment for all and highlighted current DISA innovative technologies now in development. She concluded by presenting the Innovation Roadmap through 2024.
Dr. Mark Finlayson, FIU SCIS Assistant Professor led the first Panel with an excellent overview of Information Assurance in the Age of Disinformation and how “weaponized narrative is the new battlespace for everyone, and concluded with a look at his research in AI and natural language processing.
Mr. Gene Baker, CIO of the Miami-Dade County Public School District, provided an eye-opening discussion on how the school system information network is a magnet for cyber-attacks, especially from smart, disgruntled students. (We’ve come a long way from, “My dog ate my homework!”) He and his team responded to questions and described their efforts to keep information flowing for thousands of employees and students while protecting the system from attacks.
The comprehensive Workshop Proceedings will be available in the next few weeks and can be found at iaai.cs.fiu.edu. Stay tuned for more!
