This conference is designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and local government entities. The conference brings world-class speakers together with a diverse community of cybersecurity practitioners and leaders, education professionals, military and government experts, and students to collectively address the challenges and opportunities facing these organizations in the ever-evolving cyber landscape.
The Florida Center for Cybersecurity, also known as Cyber Florida, was created by the Florida State Legislature in 2014 within the University of South Florida to help Florida become a national leader in cybersecurity education, academic and practical research, and community outreach and engagement. While part of the University of South Florida, Cyber Florida works on behalf of the State of Florida at large, often carrying out special projects on behalf of the Florida Legislature, to help the citizens, businesses, and organizations of Florida stay safer in cyberspace. Cyber Florida engages a large network of public and private partners to achieve our goals, spanning public organizations such as law enforcement, public school districts, and state, county, and local government, to private companies that provide services and contribute to Florida’s growing cyber-related economy.
We work to build a robust pipeline of future professionals by introducing cyber safety and career awareness programs to K–12 schools and helping Florida’s public colleges and universities offer degree and certificate programs that produce ready-to-hire graduates. We create new, more accessible career pathways for career changers to enter the field, helping to address our nation’s critical cyber workforce shortage. We support and facilitate academic research that contributes to our nation’s competitive edge and conduct studies that yield new insights into cybercrime, privacy, user behavior, and organizational needs to help craft local, state, and national policy. Lastly, we engage millions of Floridians through cyber safety awareness campaigns and host events and resources to help protect those populations and organizations that are most vulnerable to cybercrime, such as small businesses, local governments, and senior citizens.
