FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- U.S. Army Cyber Command and Second Army strengthened its ties with academia and the research community when it hosted a recent capabilities overview with senior representatives of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, at ARCYBER headquarters here.
The event was an opportunity for ARCYBER to advance innovative approaches to developing cyber capabilities and further the crucial two-way dialogue between Army Cyber and leaders in cyber technology, said Col. Barry Huggins, ARCYBER's chief of staff, in opening remarks to participants.
"That partnership revolves around more than a fascination with technology," Huggins said. "It's about being united in a mission and dedicated to training and equipping those who operate in the cyber domain."
During the event GTRI leadership presented updates on several cyber situational awareness projects and products its researchers are developing for the Army. Those efforts are focused on cyber threats and countermeasures in areas such as electronic warfare, threat intelligence, big data analytics, malware analysis, network forensics, threat modeling, web vulnerability, hardware and software engineering and other cyber capabilities.
Lt. Col. Tracey Smith of ARCYBER's Capabilities, Implementation and Modernization division was key in organizing the daylong program. She said engagement with academia and industry are vital in an environment of dwindling resources in which the Army has to look at innovative ways to make itself better, more efficient and more resilient.
The event here follows on a visit by representatives from ARCYBER and other Army commands to GTRI in Georgia in March for discussions and demonstrations of the center's work on cyber situational awareness capabilities.
"Two-way dialogue is key," Huggins said. "We have become drivers of innovation, not just consumers of it. The Army's real-world needs for equipment and capability are pushing private sector innovators to develop technologies unique to Army mission needs."
ARCYBER's planned transition to Fort Gordon, just two hours' drive from GTRI's headquarters in Atlanta, will strengthen that dialogue even further, said Steve Moulton, director for strategic programs in GTRI's Information and Cyber Services Directorate. He said the institute, which is a non-profit applied research center whose projects primarily support the Department of Defense, is unique among its peers because its close ties with the university community give it "a huge bench" of talent to draw upon to multiply its own expertise.
ARCYBER's collaboration with GTRI is taking its place alongside other innovative initiatives Army Cyber is developing in partnership with academia and industry such as the Stanford University Hacking 4 Defense program and the Army Cyber Innovation Challenge program.
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