Publications & Articles

2011-11-15
Summary: Dulles Chamber GovCONnections Cyber Security Lunch & Learn - November 15, 2011

Greetings & Happy Thanksgiving. Here is a quick summary from our recent Dulles Chamber GovConnections Lunch & Learn in case you didn’t get a chance to join us. Last week, for the 2nd of our 3-part series about cyber security, supply chain assurance, architectural impacts & training, we heard from leaders in industry and with the government about the unique threats and possible solutions to cyber security issues. The speakers included senior people from IBM, Juniper Networks, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Applied Information Technology at GMU.

Here are some of the important take-aways:

• Counterfeit products have entered manufacturer’s supply chains, including manufacturers that provide end-products to the federal government. Counterfeit products – like computer chips – may simply be inferior to the real thing. Or, they may contain undetected, unfriendly software that is designed to harm the government & contractors.
   
• Cyber security requires the cooperation of governments around the globe, as well as companies and other multi-national organizations. The problem goes beyond national borders.
   
• The challenge is that we all share stuff electronically. It’s just part of our life. There are currently about 12.5 billion internet connections. In 5 years, that’s projected to be about 25 billion connections – more people in the pool, some good and others not so good.
   
• Finally, the United States has a significant shortage of educated, trained cyber security personnel. The cyber security environment is constantly changing and there are not enough people to fill today’s jobs – or the jobs of tomorrow.
   

Our next GovConn session will be on Wednesday, December 7th at the Westfields Marriott 11:30 am – 1:30 pm. We will focus on cyber security policy, legislation, and budget with Robert Butler, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, and Alan Chvotkin, the Executive Vice President of the Professional Services Council.

Please call us if you would like to discuss the substantive aspects of this presentation or for more information on GovConnections events. The Dulles Chamber asked OF&P’s Government Contracts Practice to continue as the lead law firm partnering with them on another year-long series on the changing dynamics of the Government Contract industry. We welcome your participation in future sessions!

David Lawrence 703-218-2181
Brian Darst 703-218-2140
Matthew Keller 703-218-2117
On Behalf of OF&P’s Government Contracts Practice