Never before has the United States held an election so reliant on cybersecurity infrastructure. Information on candidates, videos of their debates, and opinions about their legislation are just a click away. At the same time, elections have never been more susceptible to interference. Hackers have proven that they can access sensitive emails and files to influence elections.
Mail-in-voting has also highlighted the issue of voter suppression in the U.S. Of some 550,000+ absentee ballots rejected in the 2020 primaries, ballots from first-time absentee voters, young voters, and voters of color were more likely to be rejected.
With both concerns magnified this year, voters will need to be informed about what they can do to make sure their vote is counted. Join this incisive discussion about the upcoming election - and bring your questions about cybersecurity and the new voting landscape.
Featured Speaker(s)
Rene Redwood, CEO of Redwood Enterprise, informs the debate, policies, and practices on equity and inclusion while directing winning initiatives for public, non-profit, and private sectors. She is a chemist by training, was director of the Presidential Glass Ceiling Commission, was court-appointed to oversee a Fortune 100 corporation class action settlement, and currently chairs the Equality Task Force for a security agency. Rene conducts: workplace audits, culture assessments, and barrier analysis on human capital organizational risk; workforce systems and process transformation; and qualitative research with internal and external customers on policies, institutional practices, values, and attitudes impacting morale and the bottom line. She facilitates learning on: EEO, DEI, sexual harassment; and the impact of bias on individual and institutional success.
Rhonda Childress is a Vice President and IBM Fellow, as well as GTS Data Security and Privacy Officer, at IBM. She is accountable for protecting IBM clients' systems and data, and, by extension, client and IBM reputation and brand through industry leading security, regulatory compliance, and risk management practices. An experienced researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the IT and services industry, she is skilled in IT Strategy, Data Center, IT Security Best Practices, Information Security, and Solution Architecture. In 2018 Ms. Childress was inducted into the Women In Technology International Hall of Fame, and in 2019 was granted 32 patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office. She is a Champion of Women and Young Ladies for STEM by hosting STEM events and CyberDays4 Girls ... pushing the boundaries of the glass ceiling for women technologists everywhere.
