LIFC Members – $25

Non-Members – $50

Breakfast Included

Our November Educational Series focuses on the impact of cyberattacks and how to protect Your Business. The digital age and reliance on technology require an understanding of those processes and systems. We have invited a group of experts who will discuss the current state of cybersecurity and its impact across the country.
Discussion points will include:

• Major Types of Cyber-threats
• Cost of discovering and responding to security breaches, the downside of not preparing (lost revenue, damage to business or brand)
• Prevention and protections to systems-how to stay a step ahead
• Investment in Cybersecurity Technologies
• Federal, State, and Local Grant Opportunities
• Education and Training of Personnel

Join us for this important discussion to help you understand the importance of cyber security, and keep your business running smoothly.

Paul LaPorte – Cyber & Network Program Coordinator, Advanced Institute for Manufacturing, MVCC

As an IT professional for 10 years, Paul has provided a variety of IT and Cyber Security solutions and training in the fields of engineering, manufacturing, education, commerce, insurance, and more. Since starting with the MEP system in 2016, Paul has provided cybersecurity support to hundreds of manufacturers in areas of educational workshops, risk assessments, solutions implementation projects, policy writing assistance, and employee training. Many of these projects have involved compliance with the NIST 800-171 document requirements and upcoming CMMC certification requirements that are being demanded of Department of Defense supply chain contractors, including implementation and management of the DoD Cybersecurity Assistance Grant in 2019 and the NYS Cybersecurity Assistance Grant in 2020. Paul has an A.S in Microcomputer Technologies: Technical Support and a B.S. in Network and Computer Security.

Allan Cohen – Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody, Long Island

Allan Cohen is the Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody’s Long Island office. He represents a variety of companies, ranging from large public entities engaging in mergers and acquisitions, to mid-sized closely-held and family-owned businesses, to technology-based startups organizing new business ventures and raising capital. His work in the food industry has included several large and established shelf-stable and frozen brands, manufactured and distributed in the Long Island area

Everton Henriques – Director, NY-MEP Solutions, FuzeHub

Everton H. Henriques is the NY MEP Solutions Director at FuzeHub. His focus is helping the manufacturing community, general industry, start-ups, local colleges, and universities to advance innovation and technology. He is a co-founder and vice president of the former Panasonic Plasma Display Laboratory of America, Inc. (formerly Plasmaco, Inc.). In 1999 Plasmaco made the first full color 60-inch HD plasma display television in the world.

Everton was an engineering manager at IBM’s Kingston plasma display manufacturing facility and spent 32 years in the plasma business. Everton was also a research chemist for Texaco, Inc. He received BS and MA degrees in Chemistry, with emphasis in Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, from SUNY New Paltz. He received the IBM Business Decision Making (MBA Fundamentals) Certificate from the Darden School of Business at UVA. He received several invention awards from IBM.

In the last 3 years Everton has been primarily focused on providing technology and funding resources in addition to promoting cybersecurity to NYS manufacturers.

Everton was inducted into the School of Business’ Hall of fame at SUNY New Paltz in 2010.

Cory Albrecht – Director, Advanced Institute for Manufacturing, (AIM)

Director: Since 2007 Cory has been assisting manufacturers in the Mohawk Valley Region through the New York State Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. This program provides manufacturing and technology development services to the small and medium-sized manufacturers in Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, and Hamilton Counties. Currently, Cory is the Director of MVCC’s Advanced Institute for Manufacturing (AIM). In this role, Cory will be working with over 700 Mohawk Valley Regional manufacturers and helping them increase their competitiveness and grow their businesses. Cory is very active in advancing technology and developing ideas for new products and services throughout the region.

Imin Kao – Ph.D. Executive Director MTRC@SBU NY-MEP, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University

As the Director of the Manufacturing Automation Laboratory (MAL), Imin Kao conducts research in the areas of robotics and manufacturing automation, dexterous manipulation with soft fingers, wafer manufacturing, wiresaw, MEMS, and intelligent fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). He was the first to conduct research in modeling and control of wiresaw manufacturing process. His work has contributed to establishing and developing fundamental understanding of wiresaw slicing technology which has become the major technology to replace ID saw in wafer slicing, especially for large-diameter silicon crystal ingot. His research has been funded by NSF, DoE, SME, GT Equipment Technologies, BCAM International, and numerous other industries. Kao was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transaction on Robotics and Automation, and the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Systems. He is a member of the ASME, IEEE, and ASEE. He has authored in excess of 110 refereed papers, several book chapters, and a chapter in the Springer Robotics Handbook.  He is the Founding Faculty Director of the Information and Technology Studies (ITS) Undergraduate College at the Stony Brook University.  He is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Teaching and the Student Life Award at Stony Brook University.  He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the National Honor Society of Engineering.

Hak J. Kim – Ph.D. Chairperson and Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Hofstra University

Dr. Hak J. Kim is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, School of Business, and Director of the Cybersecurity Innovation and Research Center, at Hofstra University. He earned a Ph.D. in information systems from the University of Pittsburgh and received an M.S. in Engineering (major: telecommunications) from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to beginning his academic career, he had worked for six years as a research engineer at SK Telecom which is a world-class wireless network carrier. Dr. Kim’s research includes security in cloud computing and IoT, digital forensics, mobile app design, and big data analytics. He is currently building a real-time location tracking and positioning system using RFID and mobile apps. Dr. Kim’s articles have been published in the International Journal of Business Information Systems, Telematics and Informatics, and the International Journal of Business Data Communications and Networking. He is the recipient of the Dean’s Research Award for the Zarb School of Business and a research grant from the David D. Lattanze Center at Loyola College in Maryland. Dr. Kim has a strong interest in pre-college (K-12) education and has done several summer workshops for students to learn how to program mobile apps for designing games on their smartphones and tablets.

Michael Nizich – Ph. D. CISSP-Director, Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation Center (ETIC). Director, NSA/DHS Cyber Defense Education Program, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)

Michael Nizich is the director of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) and an adjunct assistant professor of computer science at the New York Institute of Technology. He has more than 25 years of professional experience in information technology in a variety of industries, including aviation, education, law enforcement, biotechnology, and cybersecurity. Nizich has held IT leadership positions in both private and publicly held companies.

With more than 10 years of college-level teaching experience, Nizich holds a Ph.D. in Information Studies from Long Island University, a master’s degree in Technology Systems Management from Stony Brook University, and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Dowling College.

Through ETIC programs, Nizich regularly connects both domestic and international students with internships and full-time positions in cybersecurity. He also directs New York Tech’s Center of Academic Excellence for Cybersecurity Education, designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, and serves as a member of the CTEA committee for cybersecurity for Suffolk County Community College.

Amir Rahmati – Ph. D. Director, Ethos Security & Privacy Lab, Asst. Professor, Stony Brook University

Amir Rahmati is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University, where he leads the Ethos Security & Privacy lab. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2017. His research focuses on the security of emerging technologies, including Machine Learning and the Internet of Things. His works involve designing, building, and evaluating systems that tackle security challenges in these domains. Rahmati’s research has received frequent attention from media outlets, including MIT Technology Review, Washington Post, and Bloomberg. His work on the security of autonomous driving systems is currently on display at the London Science Museum.

Robert Tockarshewsky – Vice President, P&C, USI Insurance Services

Rob Tockarshewsky is Vice President of the Property & Casualty group within USI Insurance Services, USI is one of the leading, mid-market business insurance & risk consulting brokerages in North America today.
Rob has over 25+ years of experience working with global manufacturers and service providers, large and small, across a variety of industries. Rob helps clients identify the cyber risks and business interruption challenges specific to their companies and helps implement meaningful solutions to help mitigate these risks through customized, cost effect insurance options.

Strassberg, CISSP – Chief Operating Officer, Cybersafe Solutions, LLC

A graduate of Binghamton University, Keith is a long time Cyber veteran with a career spanning over 3 decades. Keith, with his company Cybersafe Solutions, is helping small and medium businesses level the playing field against today’s advanced cyber threats. Keith also shares his expertise having authored numerous books on cyber security including Information Security: The Complete Reference (ISBN 0072226978) and Firewalls: The Complete Reference (ISBN 0072195673). Prior to joining Cybersafe, he served as President and CTO for SHC Universal, Chief Cybersecurity Architect for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America as well as a Cyber Consultant for Arthur Andersen.
Cybersafe Solutions offers comprehensive services that can improve your client’s cybersecurity posture. SOL-XDR, Cybersafe’s most advanced continuous monitoring solution, provides 24/7/365 monitoring of your network, cloud, and endpoints for rapid threat detection and containment.