Record Attendance at Cybersecurity Roundtable, 100+ Business, Tech, Law Enforcement Leaders Participate

Columbus — Leaders from several of west Georgia’s largest companies discussed the most pressing cybersecurity threats facing businesses at a roundtable meeting held in Columbus, Georgia on Friday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia (USAO MDGA) and the Columbus Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) organized a joint Cybersecurity Roundtable, a half-day event on September 27, 2019 featuring presentations from law enforcement agencies that fight cybercrimes as well as opportunities for key leaders within these organizations to speak frankly about the threats they face. This was the first IIA Columbus Chapter Cybersecurity Roundtable, and the largest attendance ever at an IIAColumbus Chapter meeting.

“Cybercrime is on the rise in the United States and in the Middle District of Georgia. Our office is committed to working with our business community and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute cybercriminals, wherever they are. The first step in fighting cybercrime is to educate businesses, individuals and law enforcement on the landscape of threats, how to prevent an incident and how to best respond to threats,” said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “I want to thank the Columbus Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Columbus business community for their support in this important conference. Working together, we can better protect our citizens and businesses from cybercrime."

“The IIA Columbus Chapter was proud to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to present the Cybersecurity Roundtable in Columbus. As evidenced by our record attendance of over 100 people, cybersecurity is a key risk to businesses in Columbus and important topic of interest to the IIA Columbus Chapter,” said Matt Jones, President, IIA Columbus Chapter. “The IIA Columbus Chapter would like to thank U.S. Attorney Peeler and his office for all of their hard work in preparation for the conference and for providing the subject matter experts for the cybersecurity conference.”

Industry experts and business leaders joined law enforcement experts from the FBI, Secret Service, Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Georgia Cyber Crime Center (G3C), and the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section at the Cybersecurity Roundtable. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.