Business leaders and IT professionals from across the Northeast will come together to learn about the latest developments in cybersecurity at the HackerFest trade show in upstate New York.
Cyber crime presents new dangers to individuals and nations according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. As recently as last week, Panetta warned that cyber attacks could be as paralyzing for the United States as the terror attacks of September 11.
The organizer of the HackerFest technology trade show, Ken Michael, says that people need to raise their awareness of cyber crimes because they can include theft of intellectual property or identity.
Michael says there's been a general rise in the number of cyber attacks across the board, including espionage.
"This is extremely important, this is the worst year recorded in history of cyber crime. People are losing their intellectual property, they're losing their finances, this is very very bad," said Michael.
He says cybersecurity measures across existing networks need to be stepped up, but people can also protect themselves through simply being careful about what they put on the Internet.
