|
Tri-Laterial conference speaker to address issues of critical infrastructure protection |
|
|
|
|
| Written by Nancy Argyle, on Fri-May-2009 |
Page 1 of 3
 When Dr. Phyllis Schneck first noticed an FBI agent in one of her lectures, she mistakenly thought she was about to be arrested for outstanding parking tickets. Instead, the agent was actually approaching her for assistance — something that Schneck highlights with a grin when re-telling the story.
Today, Schneck, who is McAfee’s vice-president and director of threat intelligence (for the Americas), leads a unique effort that is focused on, as she describes it, “what it will take to protect your lifestyle.”
Over the past decade, Schneck has worked her way up from writing code for the protection of public infrastructure in the 1990s to becoming a recognized leader in cyber protection and security issues. In her role with McAfee, she continues to liaise with numerous law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, where she says she is impressed with the “amazing talent” in these organizations. “It’s not like in the movies,” she adds, with a chuckle.
With a PhD in high performance computing and years of insightful, real-world experience, Schneck says we are still 10 years behind in the protection of critical infrastructure. “It’s not a criticism, but a call to action,” she says. “Because any cyber event, intended or not, has real physical consequences.”
Critical infrastructure protection is a passionate subject for Schneck — one in which she is adamant that “intelligence is the key to moving forward.” Viruses and worms no longer hold the same level of threat compared to the potential to do serious harm to critical infrastructure.
In the United States, critical infrastructure is defined as systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the country that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on national security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.
|
