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Recorded on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 1:00pm-5:00pm EST ON24
As the importance of information technology and digital transformation grows for the Department of Defense, federal organizations have prioritized cybersecurity as a crucial element of military readiness. Many federal organizations are frantically working to strengthen their cybersecurity technology to protect vital assets from malicious cyberattacks.
During GovConWire’s Cybersecurity in National Security Summit, leading federal and commercial industry leaders will address threats to critical IT infrastructure, major initiatives bolstering the DOD’s cybersecurity and opportunities for private industry to support the federal government’s cybersecurity objectives.
Rob Arnold is a Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk Management to the National Risk Management Center, which is a division of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Among other projects, he spearheaded the establishment of the first National Critical Functions Risk Register to help senior government leaders prioritize and coordinate risk management objectives across the entire government ecosystem. Prior to joining the National Risk Management Center, Mr. Arnold served as the CEO of Threat Sketch, a data and analytics firm specializing in solutions for large scale cyber risk management problems. He completed his graduate studies in information security at East Carolina University and is certified in risk and information systems control by ISACA. He is the author of Cybersecurity: A Business Solution, a definitive guide to managing cyber risk in small organizations. Before joining the National Risk Management Center, he represented the interests of small organizations before Congress and through participation in key Homeland Security events. Mr. Arnold is a founding member of the ICT Supply Chain Task Force Executive Council. He served as the first chairman of the North Carolina Center for Cybersecurity and sat on advisory boards for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Forsyth Technology Community College and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Marianne Bailey is a partner at Guidehouse who leads the Advanced Solutions Cybersecurity practice to provide strategies and solutions which enable Guidehouse clients to manage their cybersecurity risks. Guidehouse’s Cybersecurity offerings include Strategy and Security Architecture, Cyber Resilience, Executive Cybersecurity Support, Incident Prevention and Response, Identity and Access Management (IAM), High Value Asset Management, and Data Protection and Privacy. Marianne and her team bring the power of leveraging other Guidehouse Solutions areas of Artificial Intelligence, Open Source Solutions, Advanced Analytics, Enterprise Risk Management, and Digital & Emerging Technologies as they partner with clients to develop and sustain cyber resilience to mitigate cybersecurity risks against current and emerging threats. Marianne brings over 35 years of experience across the Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence community, and civil government sectors. She served as Deputy National Manager for National Security Systems (NSS) and Senior Cybersecurity Executive for the National Security Agency where she was directly responsible for systems across the government containing classified and/or sensitive information. She also served as both Principal Deputy for Cybersecurity and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (DCISO), Department of Defense, CIO. She received the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award, the highest government civilian recognition, for her contributions to national security. Marianne has lead US cyber policy and technology issues internationally and is well known for her global leadership in cyber. She has received many awards recognizing her efforts to include the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, FedScoop’s Top Women in IT and most recently, Washington’s Top 25 Cyber Executives to Watch (2020). Marianne earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master’s degree in Resourcing the National Strategy (economics) from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. She is also a graduate of the NSA Senior Leadership Development Program (2003-2007), the Harvard Executive Leadership Develop Program and the Executive Leadership at the Peak Program.
Major General Maria B. Barrett, a Massachusetts native, graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations and was commissioned through the Army ROTC program as a Second Lieutenant in 1988. MG Barrett’s previous assignments include: Deputy Director of Current Operations, J-3, United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Force (Headquarters—Cyber (JFHQ-C) with United States Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), and Deputy Commander (Operations) for Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), USCYBERCOM. MG Barrett’s command assignments include serving as Commander, 160th Signal Brigade, Third United States Army. She has commanded at the company, battalion, and brigade level. MG Barrett’s joint assignments include service as a Chief Information Officer/Director, J-6 with United States Southern Command at Doral, Florida and Director, J-3 with White House Communications Agency at Washington, DC. She has served in Army assignments in the United States, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. MG Barrett is a veteran of Operations New Dawn/Enduring Freedom and Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. MG Barrett holds a Master of Science Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (Eisenhower School), and a Master of Arts Degree in Telecommunications Management from Webster University. MG Barrett's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and the Signal Regiment’s Bronze Order of Mercury. She is married to LTC (Ret) Brian T. Barrett, a former Signal Corps Officer and fellow Massachusetts native.
Garrettson Blight leads Booz Allen’s Dark Labs community, an elite team of security researchers, penetration testers, reverse engineers, network analysts, and data scientists dedicated to stopping cyber attacks before they occur. He has 15 years of experience partnering with clients in both the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on work with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence community. His areas of expertise include security assessments, rapid capability prototyping, threat modeling, enterprise security architecture, and cyber strategy. He is driven by passions for security innovation and intelligently transforming businesses to achieve greater impact through secure technology. He has a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s from the U.S. Naval War College, and a master’s specialization in change management from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Rear Adm. Susan BryerJoyner is a native of Savannah, Georgia. She received her commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering. She holds a Master of Science in Computer Science, Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Science in Government Information Leadership, Information Resources Management College at National Defense University. Previous flag tours include Deputy Director, Command, Control, Communications, and Computer/ Cyber Systems,J-6, Joint Staff and Director, Navy Enterprise Networks and Cybersecurity Division, N2N6, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Fleet assignments include Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked on USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75); U.S. 7thFleet; USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19); and Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked onboard USS George Washington(CVN 73). Shore assignments include the Department of Defense; the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; Hopper Information Services Center, Naval Network Warfare Command; Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Mediterranean; and Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Far East. Joint tours include U.S. Cyber Command; Multi-National Force Iraq; Joint Warfare Analysis Center; and U.S. Pacific Command. Personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, and Bronze Star Medal. She was a recipient of the Copernicus Award in 2001 and 2006 and is a proud Plank Owner of the Information Professional Community and the Naval Network Warfare Command.
Lieutenant General (Retired) Crawford is an inspired, results-oriented thought leader of character with over thirty-four years of leadership, executive management, national & international security, enterprise information technology (IT) and cybersecurity experience. As the Army’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and senior IT official, he most recently served as the principal enterprise IT and cybersecurity policy advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff. LTG (Retired) Crawford’s duties and responsibilities also included execution and oversight of the Army’s $12.B IT annual IT budget, the Army's data and cloud migrations and delivery of IT capabilities from the tactical edge to the enterprise at 288 locations in 143 countries world-wide. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, LTG (Retired) Crawford was commissioned through South Carolina State University's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program on May 28, 1986, after graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. During his 34 years of service, LTG Crawford has served in a variety of operational and strategic leadership positions in every major theater of operations, that includes Europe, the Pacific and Southwest Asia. He also holds a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. Other executive assignments include oversight of the Army’s IT & Software Sustainment Materiel enterprise as Commanding General, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) and Installation Commander of 21,000 employees at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland; J6, Director of Cyber/CIO U.S. European Command; CIO and Commanding General, 5th Theater Signal Command (U.S. Army Europe), Wiesbaden, Germany; Director of the Initiatives Group for the Chief of Staff of the Army, Pentagon, Washington D.C. LTG (Retired) Crawford's awards and decorations include the Black Engineer Of The Year Association’s (BEYA) 2020 Black Engineer Of The Year, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. LTG (Retired) Crawford is authorized to wear the Army Combat Action Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Army Staff Identification Badge. LTG (Retired) Crawford is married to Ms. Dianne R. Crawford (Education Administrator) and has two sons, Captain Bruce T. Crawford (U.S. Army) and Corey Crawford (IT Specialist w/Spectrum Inc).
Major General Matthew P. Easley became the Director for Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in the office of the Army Chief Information Officer (CIO) in September 2020. In this role, MG Easley oversees cybersecurity policy development and compliance to secure Army data and information in an environment resistant to known and emerging cyber threats. He is helping architect the Army's future zero trust cybersecurity framework and enabling secure cloud applications. MG Easley’s prior command and operational assignments include Director, Artificial Intelligence Task Force, Army Futures Command; Deputy Commanding General – Cyber, 335th Signal Command, East Point, GA; Chief of Staff, 335th Signal Command, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; Commander, 505th Signal Brigade, Las Vegas, NV; Commander, 319th Signal Battalion, Camp Buehring, Kuwait; Instructor for Command and General Staff College; and company-grade positions in the 121st Signal Battalion at Ft Riley (1ID) and in the 32nd Signal Battalion in Germany (V Corps). His military education includes the Signal Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, the Joint and Coalition Warfighting School, and the Army War College. MG Easley received his commission upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics. He also holds a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University, and a doctorate degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Colorado at Boulder. MG Easley is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) and is a member of the Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics), Eta Kappa Tau (Engineering and Technology), Phi Kappa Phi (Academic) and Sigma Xi (Research) academic honor societies. He is also a volunteer program evaluator for ABET to accredit electrical, computer and systems engineering undergraduate programs. In his civilian career, Dr. Easley was a research scientist at the Rockwell Science Center (later Teledyne Scientific) conducting original research in information fusion, automated reasoning and autonomous systems and supported both the second DARPA Grand and Urban Challenges. Later he joined the Boeing Company as a senior systems engineer / architect where he won the Phantom Work’s Team Excellence award for a technology demonstration on the USMC Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S). Matt also worked the design and development of the mission system architecture for Boeing’s recently won MQ-25 carrier-based refueling drone program for the US Navy.
Neal Higgins is Associate Deputy Director of CIA for Digital Innovation. Founded in 2015, the Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI) accelerates the integration of digital capabilities across all of CIA’s mission areas, with responsibility for cyber intelligence, open source collection, data governance, data science, secure global communications, and worldwide mission information systems. As Associate Deputy Director, Neal helps lead and manage DDI’s budget, policies, and personnel. He regularly represents DDI and CIA in engagements with U.S. Government partners, industry, and congressional oversight. From April 2017 through November 2017, Neal served as deputy chief of the WikiLeaks Task Force, which coordinated CIA’s response to one of the largest data losses in Agency history and issued recommendations to improve CIA’s ability to defend against cybersecurity and insider threats. From June 2013 to April 2017, Neal served as Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs (D/OCA), where he advised CIA senior leadership on all legislative and oversight matters, served as CIA’s primary liaison to the United States Congress, and supervised officers responsible for over 1,000 congressional engagements and 200 written notifications each year. In 2015 and 2016, Neal testified publicly before two congressional committees, the only CIA official to do so other than Director Brennan. For his service as D/OCA, Neal received the Director’s Award from both Director Brennan and Director Pompeo. In 2017 he was named the Intelligence Community Legislative Liaison Officer of the Year and in 2018 he received a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award. From 2011 through 2013, Neal served as Senator Bill Nelson’s designee on professional staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He also managed the committee’s oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and monitored intelligence operations and analysis relating to Iraq and the Gulf region. From 2007 to 2011, Neal served as Senator Nelson’s legislative director, leading the senator’s policy staff and overseeing his work on the Senate Aging, Armed Services, Budget, Commerce, Finance, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence Committees. Earlier in his career he worked as an editor at Foreign Affairs, a member of the trial team prosecuting Slobodan Milosevic, and an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Neal received his A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. He received a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. Neal lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and daughter.
John joined Jacobs in February of 2020 as the Vice President of Growth & Strategy for the Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) Cyber & Intelligence Business Unit. In this role, John oversees the design and execution of all business development and strategy initiatives related to Jacobs cyber offerings to US government clients. John is a recognized executive in the government services market. Most of John’s career has been centered on the delivery of technology and consulting services to the U.S. Intelligence and Defense communities in program and sales leadership capacities at several Fortune 500 companies. John earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore. He currently serves on the board of the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council and is an adjunct professor at the Sellinger School of Business at Loyola University of Maryland where he teaches a course on information systems design to undergraduate students. John lives with his wife, Kara, and their 21-month-old daughter, Kennedy, in Baltimore.
Director, U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) Kumar leads DOE’s mission to address cyber, physical, and natural hazards and threats to the U.S. energy infrastructure. Kumar has over 15 years of experience in grid modernization, cybersecurity, and emergency response within the energy sector. Most recently, Kumar was the principal manager for cybersecurity engineering and risk management at Southern California Edison. There, he led a team that addressed cyber threats to critical infrastructure at one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. Kumar previously served as director of preparedness and exercises for CESER’s Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration division and as senior advisor for policy and strategy at CESER. In those capacities, he led the development of national-level policies, strategies, and programs related to energy sector hazards and threats. Kumar has also held industry positions at the American Public Power Association as director of engineering and operations and at Memphis Light, Gas, and Water as a power systems engineer.
Mr. Plater was named the DON CISO in February 2021. He reports directly to the DON CIO on the sufficiency, impacts, and implications of proposed changes to cybersecurity guidance, standards, and strategies. He advises the DON CIO on the Defend Strategic / Enterprise level IT security initiatives, commercial cloud security, and cybersecurity innovation to achieve the organization’s vision. He supports coalition building to speed implementation of innovative solutions to address department requirements. He leads a team responsible for driving initiatives to secure DON data and information, regardless of where it resides. These initiatives involve measuring cyber risk, active monitoring, building a cyber-sentry culture, securing the Defense Industry Base, and supporting acquisition. Mr. Tony Plater joined the government as a Senior Advisor to the Department of the Navy (DON) Chief Information Officer in November 2015. Prior to his selection for government service, Mr. Plater accumulated 13 years of industry experience as a Senior Lead Technologist with Booz Allen Hamilton. In this capacity, he rendered onsite cybersecurity policy and program support to senior leadership in the DoD CIO Cloud Computing Office, Navy N2/N6, and the Navy Marine Corp Intranet (NMCI) Program Office. Mr. Plater is a retired U.S. Army military IT professional who was formally recognized on numerous occasions for exemplary/meritorious service. During his military career, he completed leadership assignments with the Joint Staff J4, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the 501 st Military Intelligence Brigade. Mr. Plater is a graduate of the DON’s Bridging the Gap Leadership Development Program and the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) Leadership for a Democratic Society course. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems, in addition to multiple industry certifications including Program Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information System Security (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner is the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and the commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network. As the DISA director, Skinner manages a global network of more than20,000 service members, civilians and contractors who provide defense communications solutions to the president, Department of Defense, secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders. DISA operates joint, interoperable command and control capabilities for the department, which support more than 200,000 warfighters in 150 countries. As the JFHQ-DODIN commander, Skinner drives unified action across the DOD to secure, operate and defend the DOD Information Network. He leads the establishment of DODIN priorities, directs threat-informed actions through formal planning and future operational initiatives, and oversees the command and control of daily unified network operations, cyber security actions and defensive operations on the DODIN. Skinner commissioned through Officer Training School in 1989. He served in various tactical and fixed communications assignments and possesses experience in planning, policy and resource staffing. He commanded at the squadron, group, wing and Numbered Air Force levels and served on the staffs at a NAF, a major command headquarters, Headquarters Air Force and the Joint Staff. Prior to assuming his current position, he was the director of Command, Control, Communications and Cyber at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, summa cum laude, from Park College in Missouri and a master’s degree in computer science with honors from Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma. Skinner's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Navy Commendation Medal and Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster.
Major General (Retired) Brett T. Williams is a co-founder of IronNet Cybersecurity. IronNet delivers the power of collective cybersecurity to defend companies, sectors and Nations. He served nearly 33 years in the U.S. Air Force and his last assignment was Director of Operations, U.S. Cyber Command. In that position, he was responsible for the operations and defense of Department of Defense networks as well as the planning and execution of offensive actions in support of national security objectives. General Williams is a highly experienced fighter pilot with more than 100 combat missions in the F-15C. In addition, he held several large operational commands to include Commander of the Air Force’s largest combat wing located in Okinawa Japan.
1:00pm - 1:05pm EST
Opening Remarks
1:05pm - 1:40pm EST
Opening Keynote Address
1:40pm - 2:40pm EST
Panel Discussion
3:00pm - 4:00pm EST
Panel Discussion
4:25pm - 4:55pm EST
Closing Keynote Address - Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner
4:55pm - 5:00pm EST
Closing Remarks
