Focus Forward symposium: Cybersecurity is key to our future and could make West Virginia the 'center of the universe'

Mar. 27—MORGANTOWN — On May 7, 2021, the Columbia natural gas pipeline was temporarily shut down by a ransomware attack.

That attack, and the ever-present vulnerability of our computer systems was on the minds of a group of panelists Wednesday during the seventh annual Focus Forward symposium, organized by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

The panel was titled Our Biggest Threat: Cybersecurity at Work and at School.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency explains: "Ransomware is an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption."

Karen Evans, managing director of the Cyber Readiness Institute, said small to medium businesses are the soft underbelly of the nation and subject to ransomware. And attackers don't even have to develop ransomware themselves, it's such a lucrative market they can just buy it.

And small buisnesses don't have the resources to hire IT staff to defend against it, she said.

Josh Brunty, coach of Marshall University's Cybersecurity Team, said cybersecurity experts are in short supply. There's a need to establish cyber academies in schools and get students excited early, and have them work with small and medium-size businesses.

It won't be cheap, he said. "It's going to take a substantial buy-in. ... But the return on investment is going to be phenomenal."

Gen. James Hoyer, WVU's vice president for Economic Innovation and former state National Guard adjutant general, said technology exacerbates two problems: divisiveness and complacency. That makes us vulnerable to other countries with more drive. So, we need to teach students civil discourse and how to work together. If we don't, "we'll get our butts kicked."

Evans said people in a rush too often trust technology without thinking. They don't question that email, supposedly from their boss or family member asking them to wire $200, 000 or buy 50 Amazon gift cards.

Hoyer agreed. "We've got to teach basic skills to pay attention to."

Hoyer pointed out that in 2023, the Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense Information Network and U.S. Cyber Command partnered with Marshall University and WVU to establish a National Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity in Critical Infrastructure in West Virginia.

That makes Marshall and WVU, he said, national assets, and opens the door to "make West Virginia the center of the universe for national security."

Email: dbeard @dominionpost.com