The U.S. has to up-level its cybersecurity. That’s the gist of what we’ve been hearing from multiple sources, including congressional commissions and the Department of Defense (DOD). The alarm bells — and the calls for more stringent security practices — will only grow louder.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission used the U.S. COVID-19 response as an opportunity to assess the nation’s preparedness for a major, debilitating cyberattack. It highlighted the need to implement more than 30 recommendations from a previous report, as well as five more based on its findings around the pandemic.
Eric Noonan, CyberSheath’s CEO, will be speaking about those kinds of preparations for a national cyberattack against the U.S. on a panel at Cybersecurity Forum 2020. He will be joined by Paul Anderson of Port Tampa Bay, and Michael Wee of Northrop Grumman to talk about lessons learned from the pandemic, the state of cybersecurity planning and organization, and where to focus efforts to better prepare for a major attack. Register for the Cybersecurity Forum 2020 and tune in on Wednesday, September 16 at 2:15 pm ET, if you’d like to learn more.
Another ongoing effort to shore up security is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This is the DOD’s effort to ensure all defense contractors are practicing and maintaining the proper level of security to better protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI).
As founder and CEO of CyberSheath, the Title Sponsor of Cybersecurity Forum 2020, Eric is well versed in the goals and efforts behind the CMMC. CyberSheath has been delivering audit-ready, compliance-focused managed services for NIST 800-171 requirements for 8+ years, and the CMMC is the next evolution of those standards.
It’s one of the most comprehensive and impactful moves by the DOD to better secure sensitive data that resides on defense contractors’ systems and networks. As a new set of requirements, many defense contractors are still working to understand the complexities and nuances of the standards, what they’re responsible for, and how to implement those changes.
CyberSheath launched our compliance managed services for CMMC to assist DOD contractors through the process. Through our managed services, we’re able to meet contractors where they are, identify gaps in CMMC compliance, implement the changes, and maintain and assure their compliance at the proper level.
We wanted to be the Title Sponsor of Cybersecurity Forum 2020 because it’s advancing important conversations around the state of security and where we can go from here. In particular, we are looking forward to keynote speakers Senator Marco Rubio, who will give an overview of the risks of national cyber breaches; and Katie Arrington, CISO for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, who will speak on what’s needed for CMMC compliance.
While the U.S. faces cyber threats from around the world, we have plenty of lessons to learn from other disaster responses and a new bar for effective cybersecurity. We don’t know what attacks might be coming, but we do know how to prepare. We hope this year’s conference will spur all in attendance to advance the cybersecurity goals that will defend American innovation and infrastructure.