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Mark R. Anderson and David Brin to Keynote COFES 2015

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At the 16th annual design and engineering software event, scientist/inventor/futurist/bestselling SF author David Brin will discuss what’s on the horizon for five years down the road, and technologist/prognosticator/advisor Mark R. Anderson will discuss strategic security issues and how they complicate software and impact risk.

Cyon Research announced today that David Brin will give the Friday keynote and Mark R. Anderson will give the Saturday keynote a at COFES 2015. COFES: The Congress On the Future of Engineering Software will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona from April 16-19 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

The two keynotes resonate with the COFES 2015 theme: “Stepping Back to See the Big Picture.”
Engineers and software professionals spend the majority of their time getting things done, tightly focused on execution of tasks and plans. Along the way, they are continuously faced with choices, big and small. Too often, decisions are made in the narrow context of what is directly in front of them. This year, COFES takes a giant step backwards in order to challenge attendees to broaden their view: to think about thinking about the bigger picture.

Brin’s keynote is “The murky road ahead: from an Internet of Things to human augmentation and AI… Looking beyond the five year ROI horizon.” According to Brin, responsible companies and chief engineers must focus on the five year return on investment, but they must also consider other horizons. If they do not, they could face the same demise as great companies like Polaroid, Kodak and Xerox. His keynote will focus on determining how much time/energy/budget should be spent on exploring the realm of “what-if” possibilities.

Anderson’s keynote is centered on “Security, Risk, and Software: Protecting Crown Jewels from State-sponsored Theft.” Anderson explains that it is impossible to gauge risk levels in the protection of corporate secrets today without understanding the role of national business models built upon crown jewel IP theft. In his keynote, Anderson will describe the latest research into the causes and levels of effort behind large-scale, state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks. Lastly, having briefed the White House, CIA, NSA and other government agencies here and abroad, he will share some of the same suggestions on pragmatic ways to address these risks.

“David Brin and Mark R. Anderson are both highly sought-after for their depth and breadth of knowledge and their proven ability to foresee major changes to society and the economy,” said Brad Holtz, president and CEO of Cyon Research Corporation. “Their vision and insights will leave attendees with significant takeaways, knowledge, and a bigger picture perspective.”