Aloha,
First off let me say a big Mahalo to each of you who have, and continue to support CyberHawaii as we work to improve the cyber resilience of our local community. I've been in my new role full time since June 12 and have to say it's been a fun and exciting ride so far. The FBI Cybersecurity Conference that's highlighted in this newsletter far exceeded expectations in terms of the number of attendees it attracted and the amount of information that was shared. Speakers from federal and state agencies provided detailed information on where they saw cyber threats and how we can prepare for them. In the audience were representatives of private businesses, both large and small, state agency personnel and students from a variety of schools. The conference highlighted the role that CyberHawaii can play to bring people from diverse backgrounds and occupations together to improve cyber resiliency.
As we look ahead to the remainder of 2023, I would like to see more participation by member organizations in defining and executing strategies to improve the cyber resiliency of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and Hawaii consumers who face continuing challenges from phishing, shopping and romance scams. CyberHawaii has the opportunity to fill a gap related to the coordinated exchange of information related to cybersecurity in the community. Many organizations currently work in this arena, but much of their effort is driven by their organization's charter and is not coordinated in any significant manner. In the healthcare arena, the non-profit I was most recently at (Hawaii Health Information Exchange) has successfully demonstrated improvements in healthcare through the sharing of Protected Health Information (PHI) by physician organizations. In California, and other parts of the country, community information exchanges (such as https://ciesandiego.org/) have been successful in demonstrating that the sharing of information by community based organizations and healthcare facilities reduces numerous risks faced by community members.
As security professionals, we often discuss cybersecurity in technical terms: frameworks, technical controls, audit/monitoring. While maintaining vigilance at the technology level is critical, so is getting the public to realize that cyber threats affect their everyday lives and livelihoods. It is this overarching theme of community well-being that I would like to see us work on addressing as we continue to move forward. Hopefully this approach will resonate with SMB's and consumers to whom cybersecurity/safety is only one risk they face.
I look forward to talking to you further in the future and to helping to position CyberHawaii as a valuable partner throughout the state of Hawaii.
Mahalo, | 
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