Cloud Security Alliance, Esther Dyson and Amrita University Co-Chair ‘Startup Pitchfest’ at SecureIT

Pitchfest to be Co-located with First International Conference on Security of Internet of Things, Keynoted by CSA’s Executive Director Jim Reavis

Kerala, India, July 2, 2012 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), as part of the

CSA Innovation Initiative, along with Esther Dyson and Amrita University will co-chair a new Startup Pitchfest at the inaugural SecureIT Conference on the Security of Internet of Things, to be held at Amrita University in Kerala, India, on August 17-19th. The magnitude and impact of Internet of Things touches every aspect of human life as never before. The cars we drive, the planes in which we fly, and the trains we travel have hundreds of vulnerable networked embedded computers. New security threats have emerged with growth of cloud computing, smart phones, internet enabled medical devices and smart energy control systems. Tackling new security threats and preserving societal concord requires experts to rapidly develop “defend & repair” techniques. Furthermore, there is a need for holistic approaches to anchor integrating technical solutions in economics & social bases. SecureIT, the first international conference on ‘Security of Internet of Things’ aims to bring together researchers, practitioners & “ethical hackers” for disseminating latest advances & security, best practices in cloud computing, mobile networks & cyber-physical control systems. The CSA is an association sponsor of the conference, and CSA’s Executive Director Jim Reavis will be delivering a keynote speech at the event. The conference steering committee is a ‘Who’s Who’ of Internet luminaries, including Bob Kahn, co-inventor of TCP/IP. The Startup Pitchfest is one of the programs of the CSA’s virtual incubator, the CSA Innovation Initiative, which was created earlier this year to foster secure innovation in information technology. CSA-II has a mission to: * Identify key structural issues related to trust and security that will inhibit the adoption of next generation information technology. * Articulate the guiding principles and objectives that IT innovators must address. * Help innovators incubate technology solutions that align with our principles and address the systemic gaps we have identified. Look for more information on the Startup Pitchfest at: http://www.securit.ws/amritapitchfest/ There will be an industrial track on August 18th for papers and topics related to Security of Intenet of things. All interested participants, please email title and abstract of talks to: [email protected] “The development of new systems and methods is critical to ensure the security of the new Internet of Things,” said Reavis. “We are pleased to be championing this effort, as part of our Innovation Initiative, to further leading-edge research and ideas, and help bring awareness to key concepts that will pave the way for the future security of the Internet.”

About the Cloud Security Alliance The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all other forms of computing. The Cloud Security Alliance is led by a broad coalition of industry practitioners, corporations, associations and other key stakeholders. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa. Media Contact Zenobia Godschalk ZAG Communications for the CSA [email protected] 678.799.8279