 The field of cybersecurity has been one of great attention for GovCon firms and their agency partners in recent years and that theme once again became prominent with thedisclosure of the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
North Korea was identified as the culprit and that announcement by the FBI changed the conversation surrounding the hack to how it could potentially affect U.S. national security.
Four GovCon leaders offered their perspectives to ExecutiveBiz on the implications of this incident on federal cybersecurity in a feature our staff ran before the Christmas holiday.
Click here to read that feature for insight and analysis of what these leaders think the attack could mean for cyber defenses at agencies.
With that backdrop and other themes related to cyber, the FBI has issued a specific call for experts in the cyber field and outlined how those workers could be assigned to different cases if they joined the bureau.
“Cyber agents will be integrated into all the different violations that we work. So whether it’s a counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation, they could be the lead agent in the case,” said Robert Anderson, executive assistant director of the FBI’s cyber branch.
Construction of a cyber-focused workforce has been a focus of both agencies like the FBI and their partners in the GovCon industry as both sides seek to unlock this talent pool.
Darrell Durst, VP of cyber solutions at Lockheed Martin, discussed the efforts of industry and government to build the country’s cyber workforce in a wide-ranging Q&A with ExecutiveBiz published in October 2014.
“Government and industry are facing an extremely competitive environment for the right skills and experience to meet their complex cyber security needs. These individuals are highly sought after and often have multiple offers to choose from at any given time,” Durst said.
He also told ExecutiveBiz that there are “no easy answers” to address the need for cyber staff but described some of the avenues Lockheed pursues to identify talent in the cybersecurity field.
“We build a pipeline by recruiting at target colleges and universities where cyber security and STEM curriculums are widely available and supported by government agencies,” Durst said.
 To start its 2015 event lineup, the Potomac Officers Club will host its ‘2015 Intel Summit‘ on Jan. 21. and National Intelligence Director James Clapper will deliver the keynote address in a half-day forum for GovCon executives and agency leaders.
Other speakers scheduled to appear include: (list ordered by headshots above from left to right)
- David Shedd, acting DIA director
- Jim Martin, DoD defense intelligence director
- Joe DeTrani, INSA president
- Michael Allen, a managing director at Beacon Global Strategies
- Janice Glover-Jones, DIA CIO
- Lonny Anderson, NSA CTO
Click here to register and save your seat, as well as to learn more about future POC events. THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES |
