University of Maryland Invites Essayists to Take a Byte Out of Cybersecurity
Pioneering Cybersecurity Expert Lawrence Gordon Establishes $1,000 Prize
College Park, Md. – January 21, 2009 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H.
Smith School of Business invites innovative solutions to one of the 21st century’s
most pressing concerns – how to allocate scarce resources to protect the massive
amount of personal and sensitive data available on computer networks and online.
The selection committee is now accepting essay submissions for the Gordon Prize
in Managing Cybersecurity Resources. The best essay on the topic will be awarded
$1,000 in the newly established competition, named for pioneering cybersecurity
expert Lawrence Gordon, Smith’s Ernst & Young Alumni Professor of Managerial Accounting
and Information Assurance.
The Gordon Prize in Managing Cybersecurity Resources encourages practitioners
and theoreticians alike to approach the problem of allocating scarce resources to
cybersecurity. Essays will be evaluated on their ability to provide and describe
a clear, innovative solution to the problem associated with managing cybersecurity
resources.
“Cybersecurity is critical in today’s global economy that is so interconnected
by technology,” said Gordon. “Individuals, organizations and governments must sure
up vulnerabilities and have the ability to fight off cyber crime, fraud and even
terrorists. Cyber attacks can result in direct financial loss via theft or embezzlement,
data breaches, business and government disruptions, poor customer relations, legal
liabilities and in some cases infrastructure failure.”
The deadline for contest entry is Aug. 1, 2009. The winner will be announced
Oct. 15, 2009. Submission guidelines for the annual prize – which is open to
students, faculty and information security professionals in both the public and
private sectors – can be found
online.
Gordon is committed to raising awareness of the issue of cybersecurity and its
importance to business leaders and has spent the past decade studying the economic
issues related to cybersecurity. With frequent collaborator Martin P. Loeb, Deloitte
and Touche LLP Faculty Fellow, Gordon started exploring the idea of applying economic
concepts such as cost-benefit analysis to cybersecurity issues in 1998. The Gordon-Loeb
model presents an economic framework that helps managers evaluate the right amount
of resources to expend on information security. In 2003, Gordon instituted the Smith
School’s annual Cybersecurity Forum, a conference that brings together academic
and industry experts.
Gordon is the co-author (with Loeb) of the book “Managing
Cybersecurity Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.” In addition, he is editor-in-chief
of the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and serves on the editorial boards
of several other journals. An award-winning teacher, he is also a frequent speaker
at various universities and professional meetings and has testified as an expert
before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
About the University of
Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader
in management education and research. One of 13 colleges and schools at the
University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate,
full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, MS in business, PhD and executive
education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The
school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning
locations on three continents — North America, Europe and Asia.
