UTSA President Ricardo Romo presents a lithograph of early
San Antonio to Rep. Ciro Rodriguez.

UTSA thanks Rep. Ciro Rodriguez for CIAS support

(Dec. 20, 2004)--U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriquez was honored at a reception Tuesday for his support for cyber-security research at UTSA. UTSA President Ricardo Romo, Provost Guy Bailey, Executive Vice Provost David Johnson and administrators of the UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) praised Rodriquez as a long-standing proponent of UTSA's work in the growing research area.

Rodriguez, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, proposed Dark Screen, a series of cyber-terrorism exercises conducted in San Antonio in 2002-2003, to test and strengthen the city's ability to detect and respond to a cyber-terrorism attack. The exercise brought San Antonio national attention as the first city to conduct a cyber-security exercise.

Greg White, director of CIAS, thanked Rodriquez for his unyielding support during the program's early days and shared news of the program's growth. Established in June 2001, CIAS is a partnership involving UTSA, the local Air Intelligence Agency, private security companies and research institutions in San Antonio. Over the past two years, CIAS has conducted cyber-terrorism training exercises across several business disciplines and in many urban areas including Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Miami.

Rodriquez acknowledged UTSA's commitment to cyber-security research, testing and training and reiterated the importance of continued efforts to secure information-based technology.

"If there is ever going to be a hit, the first sign comes through cyberspace," said Rodriguez. "If you have the network that can grasp the signs of something coming down, you can make appropriate decisions."

Romo added, "Thanks to Rep. Rodriguez's interest in cyber security and his support of UTSA, we are well on our way to becoming an academic leader in security research."

--Marianne McBride Lewis