United States Air Force Lt. Col. C. Alexander Lamkin will be the featured speaker for “Cybersecurity: Our Shared Responsibility” set for Monday, Oct. 25 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Fleming Education Center on The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park campus in Long Beach.

 

The event is being held as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, launched by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in October 2004 as a broad effort to help all Americans stay safer and more secure online.

 

“USM is excited to bring more awareness about how everyone has a role in cybersecurity defense, and we look forward to an engaging discussion with Lt. Col. Lamkin, a highly credentialed cybersecurity professional in the United States Air Force,” said Dr. Sarah, Lee, Director of USM’s School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering.

 

Lee notes that in the School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering faculty are training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals who work to mitigate the threat risk and help companies and government entities protect against cyber attacks.

 

“We have an information assurance minor and an applied cybersecurity certificate that undergraduate students across our computer science, information technology, and computer engineering programs take along with other majors at USM. However, as they join the ranks of cybersecurity warriors, they alone cannot protect us all against cyber threats. We all must be part of the defense team. Attendees can learn more about how they can help defend cyberspace at this presentation.”

 

Lt. Col. Lamkin is the commander of the 81^st Training Support Squadron located at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. In this role, he is responsible for faculty development of all local technical training instructors, development and maintenance of the academic network environment and creation of numerous training products leveraging software developers, industrial craftsmen and electrical engineers in support of approximately 29,000 graduates per year.

 

He is a graduate of Howard University, Washington D.C. and received his commission through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Detachment 130. Lt. Col. Lamkin has served as a Cyberspace Operations Officer, completing tours in Network Defense with the Defense Information Systems Agency, Network Exploitation with the National Security Agency, Offensive Cyberspace Operations with United States Cyber Command and deployment in support of the 101^st Airborne Division at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan and USSOCOM.