PITTSBURGH-Vermont Governor Howard Dean will join some of the nation's leading state information technology officials, academic experts and Internet security specialists as they meet March 27-28 at Carnegie Mellon University to explore ways to strengthen the security of state information systems and network infrastructures.Governor Dean, who serves on the executive committee for the National Governor's Association and who has been active in computer security matters, will be a keynote speaker at the conference.Topics to be addressed during the two-day event will include identity, authentication and access control, balancing privacy and identity, trusted input devices, driver's licenses as a basis of identity, strong authentication, digital signatures and computer emergency response topics.

"The importance of security is now a top priority for government and industries that operate the interconnected networks and systems that comprise the global information infrastructure," said Governor Dean. "We are all interconnected by computers and networks in the global infrastructure and we are only as secure as the weakest link. We all face new security challenges in the information technology community, and need to work together to identify technology solutions, as well as the resources necessary to meet these challenges."

"The issue of securing and protecting state resources has never been more urgent," added Robert Thibadeau, Director of the Internet Security Laboratory in the Institute for Software Research International in Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science. "While there has been a focus on security for bridges, buildings and natural resources, there is an equally urgent need to address security for states' computer infrastructure and vital records. Keep in mind that terrorists on September 11 were holding false state driver's licenses for identification."

In addition to Governor Dean, other speakers at the security research workshop include Rock Regan, chief information officer for the state of Connecticut; Barry Goleman, American Management Systems; Lark Allen, executive vice president, Wave Systems Corp. (WAVX:Nasdaq); Jeffrey Hunker, Dean, H. John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon; Richard Pethia, director, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Carnegie Mellon, as well as other state information technology leaders.

"One of the glaring security exposures for today's digital infrastructure are the PCs, which are the basis of most networks in government today," said Wave Systems' Allen. "The PC's open environment is vulnerable to a range of attacks from hostile individuals and entities. The industry must make it a priority to harden these systems to make them more secure."

The workshop will be open to invited state and industry information technology leaders, elected officials and media. More information on the workshop can be found at www.security.scs.cmu.edu.The Workshop Series is a central component of a security research consortium in the Institute for Software Research International in Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science. The consortium addresses specific issues of security when computers are involved.