Cyber Security Is Focus Of Summit

The first Cyber Security Summit was held in Indianapolis Wednesday.  Keynote speaker U.S. Congresswoman Susan Brooks addressed a room full of people at the summit and says a recent national report pegs the lack of cyber safety as a critical problem.

"The states across the country ranked cyber security as the lowest of their capabilities, when it comes to national security and protecting their states," says Brooks.

The Republican from Indiana’s 5th district chairs a subcommittee on emergency preparedness, response and communications and says local groups like the Indianapolis Metropolitan Cyber Defense Force are already working to improve Indy’s cyber preparedness. 

The Indianapolis Division of Homeland Security hosted the event and Chief Gary Coons says the summit gives groups a chance to network and learn more about what resources are already available.

"Like the secret service and the bureau or even Homeland Security investigations," says Coons. "They're all a big partner of ours in this cyber world from intrusion on the network to being a predator." 

An increasing number of businesses in Indiana are dealing with hacking incidents as criminals target customer’s financial information.

Homeland Security says maintaining the safety of Indiana’s online economy and infrastructure is a shared responsibility and simple steps like strong passwords and security software can make a big difference