Troy University inaugurated the Congressman Terry and Barbara Everett Cybersecurity Symposium on April 11 on the Dothan Campus.
Named in honor of the late, eight-term congressman from the Wiregrass, the symposium brought together members of the law enforcement, judicial and computer sciences to discuss the role the Alabama Fusion Center plays in combating cybercrime.
The symposium included addresses by ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor, Fusion Center Director Jay Moseley, and a panel of Fusion Center experts Rachel Salter and Aaron Tripi.
“Cybersecurity is growing so much. It’s a part of everything you do,” Taylor said. “At some point, you’re going to come into contact with someone who’s had some kind of cybersecurity related issue.”
A former newspaper editor and publisher, Terry Everett, who retired from Congress in 2009, served as an intelligence analyst from 1955 – 1959 in the U.S. Air Force’s 6901st Special Communication Group. Later, he served on the Armed Services Committee and served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he was the first chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
It was from this base, Everett wanted to do something that directly would benefit the people of southeast Alabama by educating them to the dangers posed by computer and internet sources.
“My husband was always – from the beginning – a techie nerd,” said Barbara Everett. “He had all the technology . . . from the beginning when we started our newspaper. He ordered the first computer in about a 100-mile radius of Dothan.”
Technology was passion for the journalist-turned-statesman, she said.
“He got to know a lot about national security. He got to know a lot about all the top-secret things that were going on and about how tech can be invaded and how it can be destructive in our society,” Everett said. “He was just passionate about developing something to make businesses and (government) agencies aware of the kinds of problems that he knew.”
That’s a part of the Terry and Barbara Everett legacy. The Everett’s created a fund with the Troy University Foundation to ensure they could both continue serving the Everett’s old 2nd Congressional district, which covered about the southern third of the state during Everett’s tenure.
“Their gift years ago was a way for them to combine their love of the Wiregrass and their love of Troy University,” said Vice Chancellor for Government and External Relations William Filmore.
“They wanted to be able to host cybersecurity events like this to provide a resource for folks around south Alabama,” he said.
