TACOMA, Wash. -- All sectors of governement, business and education are partners in protecting America's networks, Lt. Gen. Edward C. Cardon, commander of U.S. Army Cyber Command and Second Army, told participants at the Northwest Cybersecurity Symposium at the University of Washington-Tacoma, May 5.

The symposium's goal was to inform and provoke discussion on the importance of unifying industry and government to improve readiness and protect our nation's network systems.

Cardon was one of the keynote speakers at the event that gave cybersecurity professionals from government, industry and academia a forum to discuss U.S. strategy for dealing with attacks in cyberspace.

"When you add together the threats, vulnerabilities, and the fact that most of the networks inside the United States are privately owned, this is not just a government problem," said Cardon. "It's a national problem. Defending the nation's critical networks and infrastructure against cyber threats and vulnerabilities is more than a 'whole government approach;' it demands a 'whole nation' approach. It demands cooperation and collaboration with all sectors of government, industry and the academic community."

While recent cyber attacks on major corporations have grabbed headlines, the experts say that those attacks actually represent a small portion of the vulnerabilitis and threats of cyberspace.

"Most attacks currently are targeting small and mid-size businesses," said Michael Echols, director of the Cyber Joint Program Management Office at the Department of Homeland Security. "It's not like winning the lottery for them to be attacked. Most business owners don't get that they are a target for criminal enterprise."

"Clearly, partnership is a key to us getting an upper hand on the cybersecurity threat," said Echols. "Partnership is required because most of the technologies come out of industry and most of the networks are owned by industry."

While industry may own much of the technology and networks, military bases could serve as vital command and control hubs for dealing with major network threat situations, Echols said.

"They may have the most upgraded technologies and those communication mechanisms that will help to keep the nation responding in a critical cyber attack," he said.

Maj. Jay McIsaac, an electronic warfare officer assigned to I Corps, said bringing cyber professionals from all disciplines together at forums such as this are a another vital part of improving awareness and continuing the cybersecurity discussion.

Cardon echoed that sentiment in the closing of his remarks, stressing that all partners in protecting cyberspace need to continually work to be better connected.

While that collaboration has improved in the South Puget Sound region, the effort to improve cybersecurity and protect our nation's infrastructure and network systems must continue to evolve, said Michael Hamilton, policy adviser for the State of Washington Office of the Chief Information Officer.