Pumpkin Lattes and Cybersecurity

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October is a month of cooling temperatures, falling leaves, and pumpkin flavored everything. More importantly, it is also a month dedicated to looking at best practices in cybersecurity that will protect our data and the systems we depend on from the evolving threats directed at them. [Tweet "October: falling leaves, pumpkin flavored everything and cybersecurity awareness. #GovEventsBlog "]

From a year's worth of headlines about breaches in the public and private sector we know the threat is real and quantifiable.

  • The annual cost of cybercrime to the global economy is over $100 billion dollars and affects 556 million victims per year.
  • The average length of time that a cyber-attack goes undetected is six months.
  • The average cost of a successful cyber-attack on an organization is rising year-over-year and is currently around $15 million.

October has been designated Cybersecurity Awareness Month by the White House, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is heading up the awareness campaign. Working with public sector organizations and private companies, DHS is encouraging the technology industry to use the month for training and education within their workforce and the public at large. [Tweet "DHS is heading up the October cybersecurity awareness campaign. #GovEventsBlog"]The Department has broken the month into themed weeks to make the daunting task of securing our nation's systems a bit easier to swallow.  This year's themes are:

  • General Cybersecurity Awareness: 5 Years of Stop.Think.Connect.™
  • Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity at Work
  • Connected Communities: Staying Protected While Always Connected
  • Your Evolving Digital Life
  • Building the Next Generation of Cyber Professionals

The DHS website references keystone events nationwide addressing these themes. Next week, we'll provide a list of some key events for the federal IT and management audience.

Why Virtual Events Will See Real Growth

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We are hearing that budgets and travel restrictions for government are starting to loosen up a bit and event planners are more optimistic about growing their in-person attendance. But this growth in physical events does not necessarily signal a downturn in virtual events. We believe that online events such as webinars, virtual tradeshows, and streamed hybrid events are here to stay and here's why. [Tweet "Online events -- webinars, virtual tradeshows, hybrid events are here to stay. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Wrapping up 2015’s Key Events

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With back to school activity wrapping up for the kids, it's time for professionals to think about their own continuing education. As we've done throughout the year, here's a list of some of the remaining 2015 can't miss events for the government market. [Tweet "Remaining 2015 can't miss events for the government market. #GovEventsBlog"]

  • NASCIO Annual Conference (October 11-14 Salt Lake City, UT) - The National Association of State Chief Information Officers represents the interests of state chief information officers and information technology executives and managers. This annual meeting brings together these professionals for a chance to share challenges and successes with one another and meet with the vendor community. This year's event is focused on "advancing smart government."

Continue reading →

Video Killed the Multitasker

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With travel and training budgets remaining tight, getting people to an in-person training or event can be difficult. Many agencies are embracing online learning and video to achieve their training objectives and needs. While in-person trainings provide a high level of collaboration and attention, technology has evolved to make online training an incredibly attractive option for learning.[Tweet "Technology has evolved to make online training an attractive option. #GovEventsBlog"] From wide access to audio and video technology (with cameras and high quality speakers and microphones built into most devices) and high bandwidth, organizations are no longer limited in what they can present to remote participants. But, this does not mean every bell and whistle should be used in online training. What technologies and tools to use is a strategic decision that needs to be made based on the audience and the content.

Emily Timmerman, Senior Solutions Consultant with Adobe Connect recently shared with us some of the tips she and her team give their customers when designing virtual environments. Continue reading →

Tale of Two Cities: Social DC and Federal DC

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Washington, DC is a city with many sides to its personality and vibe. There is the social circuit defined by extravagance, power  and wealth, and an event circuit more recognizable by our readers--one defined by restraint in an effort to not break any ethics rules. The Washington Post recently ran an article about how even the traditional Washington social circles are working hard to attract the right guests to their parties and the changes they are looking to make. [Tweet "Tale of Two Cities: Social DC and Federal DC #GovEventsBlog"]

While the events listed on GovEvents do not have the budget or the purpose of these more social, fundraising events, there are some lessons we can take away from these gatherings to make them more attractive and memorable. Continue reading →