National cyber summit comes to Tennessee Valley

By Jason B. Cutshaw, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Public AffairsJune 13, 2016

National cyber summit comes to Tennessee Valley
Tom Stott, right, CyberHuntsville Board of Directors president, presents the 2016 award for the Cyber Security Management in Government to Rob Goldsmith, cyber integration director, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- People from across the nation and around the world descended on the Tennessee Valley in order to learn about cyber security and how to defend against would-be cyber-attacks.

The North Alabama Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, Cyber Huntsville Corporation, Auburn University Research and University of Alabama in Huntsville hosted the eighth annual National Cyber Summit at Huntsville's Von Braun Center June 8-9. This year's event focused on "Cyber Security across the Life-Cycle" and brought together commercial, federal and academic communities to address the most up-to-date cyber security issues.

"Getting cyber security right really requires a culture change in an organization," said Julie Schumacher, deputy to the commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command. "From the commander down to the lowest level, everyone needs to understand their responsibilities in cyber security. So much of proper cyber security is about discipline and behaviors of individuals. From a leadership standpoint, commanders and senior leaders have to own cybersecurity…..whether a commander of operational forces or a program manager developing a weapon system……leaders have to own it and not leave it to their CIO or G-6."

Schumacher spoke about the large Materiel Development focus at Redstone Arsenal and how organizations are working together through a Team Redstone Cyber Executive Steering Group. The goal of the group is to synchronize and coordinate organizational investments in cyber to gain efficiencies and to demonstrate a Redstone Arsenal cyber testing environment for mission systems. Dr. Ken LeSueur from Redstone Test Center briefed the plan for a Redstone Cyber Demonstration to be conducted in 2017.

"I am really proud of our cooperation," Schumacher said. "I think we are leading the way in building cybersecurity into weapon systems and platforms and we are a model for other communities to follow. We are leveraging each other's expertise and the talent pool we have on Redstone Arsenal."

Approximately 1,400 people registered for the summit and more than 100 commercial companies, Department of Defense organizations and federal agencies attended the event.

Since the summit began in 2008, cyber professionals have converged on the Southeast for training, education and workforce development for an ever-evolving cyber threat. Attendees benefit from educational training sessions, technical and management presentations and keynote speeches from various professionals.

"These started out with less than a hundred people attending," said. Dr. Rodney L. Robertson, Auburn University Huntsville Research Center and former SMDC Technical Center director. "Last year we had about 700 attendees and this year we have more than 1,400 people registered, so it has really grown. I think it is the interest in cyber and organizations here in Huntsville that have really helped us grow.

"People understand that there is a need for cyber security and there is a huge talent pool here that is set up to support our critical infrastructures and weapon systems against cyber-attacks from our adversaries," he added. "It is a unique community with unique people who are aware of the seriousness of cyber.

Robertson emphasized cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges our nation faces.

"Cyber security affects nearly every aspect of our lives," Robertson said. "It's your banking, your healthcare and transportation. Anything you do, cyber personally affects you. Our nation's economic prosperity depends on us being able to protect our critical systems against adversarial attacks."

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