The South Carolina State Cybersecurity Awareness Symposium is a comprehensive program designed to provide updates and raise awareness regarding cybersecurity plans within the state. The event specifically targets CISO's (Chief Information Security Officers), IT Directors, security managers, security liaisons and other pertinent personnel from South Carolina state agencies.
The primary objective is to offer a focused view of Division of Information Security plans and the state of cybersecurity within the State, facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing among participating agencies. The symposium also aims to showcase the latest advancements in security technology and highlight best practices as well as present research & development and education updates in the security field.
The one-day symposium occurred this year on October 11, 2024. It brought together representatives from 153 state agencies across South Carolina.
The symposium, initiated in 2017, is organized in partnership with the Division of Information Security (DIS) at the SC State Department of Administration and SC Cyber (USC). DIS serves as the premier sponsor and provides insights into their cybersecurity plans, while SC Cyber takes on the primary responsibility of planning, managing logistics and execute the event.
We spoke with Walker’s very own Program Manager and Director of SC Cyber, Jodi Salter, to hear her thoughts and views on the program.
When asked to provide her own recap of the event, Salter responded as follows:
“SC Cyber Symposium is an event that brings together all the cyber security and data privacy leaders from all the state agencies in South Carolina. They come together and learn the latest and best practices in Cyber Security from leading industry partners.”
This year, the symposium incorporated Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence – both becoming more prominent and intertwined in the world of technology – making this year’s symposium one of the most informative, real-time events ever hosted by SC Cyber.
“I [Salter] got great feedback from a number of attendees and from the CISO for the state of South Carolina about how well he thought it went. It was the largest attended too, this year.”
This is Salter’s fifth year hosting the Cybersecurity Awareness Symposium, and the second year it has been brought to the University of South Carolina campus. Salter believes that “This [campus location] allows us to share the importance of education and talent pipeline to the agencies and the industry partners. It really builds that bridge between government and academia industry.”
Salter hopes to see growth in both the agency attendance and the student involvement to ensure students have the opportunity to have one-on-one time with agency and industry leaders to discuss internships and jobs.
When asked how to promote outreach in the cyber world among students, Salter was confident that it will come down to “telling our story and what we are doing.” The symposium began without a student involvement piece but as Salter took on the position, she ensured that students had the opportunity to attend. Salter encourages students to take opportunities and connect with their future employers and work on professionalism before entering the workforce.
One of our Cyber Policy and Ethics students who attended the symposium, O’Malley Jenkins, remarked “SC Cyber was a fantastic way to hear from industry professionals on growing technologies and current concerns within the community. As a student, I found it very eye-opening to see what those working in the field are interested in compared to what I learn in my classes. Both attendees and speakers seemed excited to welcome and happy to network with the "new generation of cyber", vouching for the need for individuals with not just technical, but also human expertise. This was a wonderful event that I am very grateful to Ms. Salter and the Walker Institute for offering its students!”
Overall, the State Cybersecurity Awareness Symposium serves as a platform for fostering collaboration, disseminating vital information and promoting cybersecurity awareness among state agencies, while engaging a diverse group of partners across industry, academia and government.