SAN ANTONIO, Texas (February 1, 2010) – Dr. Nicole Beebe, HEI Director of Research & Development, and UTSA Assistant Professor of Information Systems will participate in a panel discussion on Friday February 5th at the Charline McCombs Empire Theater in San Antonio.

The event, “Our Growing Lives Online: Safe or Not?” is part of the Texas Lyceum’s Great Debate series, and presented by the Texas Lyceum and KLRN. The debate, to be televised statewide via public television, will tackle the thorny issue of whether existing laws and technologies adequately protect our data and identities in an online world. Panelists will represent opposing viewpoints in this debate – hackers and privacy advocates who will argue these protections are inadequate, and security leaders and government leaders who will argue that laws and technologies are closing the gap.

Scheduled to headline the event is Howard A. Schmidt, appointed last month by President Obama to serve as White House Cyber-Security Czar. Mr. Schmidt has nearly forty years of experience in business, government and law enforcement, and has previously served as the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Security Strategist for online auction giant eBay, the Special Advisor for Cyberspace Security for President George W. Bush, and as the Chief Security Officer for Microsoft Corp.

Additional panelists include CEO of SecTheory Robert Hansen, a leading expert on web application, browser and e-commerce security, Ari Schwartz, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Democracy and Technology.

The debate will be from 4-6 p.m. at the Empire Theater. It's open to the public. Tickets are available at www.texaslyceum.org for $20.