CyberSec&AI Connected 2021 will address AI's role in the future of online protection

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Avast Software, Inc.

27 Oct, 2021, 06:00 GMT

Conference speakers include experts from Facebook, Google, Avast and top-class international academics from CTU in Prague and other universities who will address cybersecurity and privacy challenges in AI and the digital world

PRAGUE, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The third annual CyberSec&AI Connected 2021 conference, this year taking place virtually on November 4 and 5th, will focus on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the future of consumer cybersecurity and online privacy protection. The aim of the event is to bring together academia and industry to address the cybersecurity and privacy challenges posed by the digital world. This year, the conference is organized by Avast, the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), and the Technical University of Darmstadt's Private AI Collaborative Research Institute.

The extensive program will feature top scientists from prestigious research institutions, including Alessandro Acquisti, Privacy Economist & Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at the Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University; keynote speaker Dawn Song, Professor in Computer Science at UC Berkeley; and Emiliano De Cristofaro, Professor of Security and Privacy Enhancing Technologies at University College London. They will be joined by experts from the world's largest technology companies, including Nicholas Carlini, Research Scientist at Google Brain, and David Freeman, Anti-Abuse Research Scientist and Engineer at Facebook.

Among the most anticipated points of the program is an expert panel devoted to the impact of AI on the handling of personal data. The availability of huge data sets through cloud solutions, along with enormous computing capacity, have recently led to significant developments in machine learning and optimization. However, this progress has also brought greater demands for data protection and increasingly frequent leaks of sensitive personal data. Panelists include anti-abuse research scientist David Freeman from Facebook, National University in Singapore professor Reza Shokri and EU Agency for Cybersecurity's Apostolos Malatras who will discuss the ethical dimensions of data handling, and what companies that systematically collect data can do to secure sensitive information, and. The panel will be moderated by Miroslav Umlauf, Chief Data Officer at Avast.

Part of the program will also be a fireside chat on the future challenges and opportunities of consumer cybersecurity featuring  Michal Pěchouček, Avast's CTO and the Director of AI Center FEE CTU, Taher Elgamal, CTO, Security, at Salesforce, also known as "father of SSL", and Darren Shou, CTO of Technology at NortonLifeLock.

"We are currently witnessing rapid developments in the way we live in the digital world and how our dependence on online services is increasing. At the same time, the danger that internet users face is also fundamentally changing," said Avast CTO Michal Pěchouček,  "Cyberattacks can be significantly amplified by AI, and therefore target people, their private data and digital identities more widely. I look forward to debating  the future of cyber security for every day internet users and the role that tech companies play in this context."

Conference tickets are available for 150 EUR. Academics are eligible for a 50% discount. Students are invited to attend the conference for free. More information about tickets, special offers and the conference program is available at: https://cybersecai.com/.

About Avast:
Avast (LSE:AVST), a FTSE 100 company, is a global leader in digital security and privacy. With over 435 million users online, Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats on the internet and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company's threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect theats in real time. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Visit: www.avast.com.

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About Czech Technical University in Prague
The Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) is one of the largest and oldest technical universities in Europe. According to Methodology 2017+, CTU occupies first place in the rankings for technical universities in the Czech Republic. CTU currently has eight faculties (Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Architecture, Transportation Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Information Technology) and more than 17,800 students. For the 2021/22 academic year, CTU in Prague is offering its students 227 accredited study programmes of which 94 are in foreign languages. CTU educates modern specialists, scientists and managers with knowledge of foreign languages, who are dynamic, flexible and can adapt quickly to the requirements of the market. According to the results of the rankings for all research organizations based on Methodology 2017+ that were approved in March 2021 by the Council for Research, Development and Innovation, CTU was assessed in the group of five technical universities, and received an A grade, the highest available ranking. CTU currently occupies the following positions according to QS World University Rankings, which evaluated 1673 universities worldwide: CTU is 403rd globally in this year's QS World University Rankings, and 12th in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia region. For Computer Science and Information Systems – 201st to 250th position.

About Private AI Collaborative Research Institute
The Private AI Collaborative Research Institute was originally established by Intel's University Research & Collaboration Office (URC), which then expanded the collaborative potential of the Institute by inviting Avast and Borsetta to join forces. Together, the parties issued a call for research proposals earlier this year, and selected the first nine research projects to be supported by the Private AI Collaborative Research Institute at eight universities. The Private AI Collaborative Research Institute will encourage and support fundamental research which will result in solving such real-world challenges for society, and will be dedicated to taking an ethical approach to AI development. By decentralizing AI, and moving AI analytics to the network edge, the companies aim to liberate data from silos, protect privacy and security, and maintain efficiency. 

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