MITRE Appoints Gary Gagnon to Cyber Security Role
April 28, 2010
BEDFORD, Mass., and MCLEAN, Va., April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The MITRE Corporation’s President and CEO, Alfred Grasso, has announced the appointment of vice president Gary Gagnon as corporate director of cyber security. In this newly formed position, Gagnon will work closely with MITRE’s leadership to develop and implement MITRE’s overall cyber security strategy and cyber work program activities performed for all government customers. In addition, he will be responsible for MITRE’s internal cyber security program and the use of company systems as a test bed for providing recommended actions to government customers.
“An increased focus and coordinated approach on cyber security and assurance underlie successful outcomes for all of our government customers,” said Grasso. “Gary brings a wealth of experience in cyber, and he will make sure that we’re delivering the strategies that enable our customers to effectively deal with advanced cyber threats.”
In establishing this new position, MITRE is taking an unprecedented approach on cyber security research and development. Rather than have separate organizations with separate leadership for internal and customer programs, MITRE is appointing Gagnon to oversee both cyber portfolios. In doing so, the company is able to integrate its own infrastructure protection efforts with ongoing cyber work for government customers.
Gagnon, who joined MITRE in 1986, has more than 25 years of experience in the field of computer security and critical infrastructure protection, serving a broad range of federal government agencies. He has helped pioneer investigative approaches to emerging cyber threats since 1998. Notably, he worked with a team that formulated the technology to investigate the earliest large-scale denial of service attack in early 2000–an attack that exposed widespread Internet vulnerabilities.
During the millennium roll-over, Gagnon led a team of experts from 24 private sector companies in support of the Cyber Assurance National Information Center (NIC) for the Y2K Information Coordination Center, which provided the federal government with computer intrusion and malicious code release information from the private sector.
In addition, Gagnon has held several leadership positions within MITRE where he concentrated on solving information security issues for a variety of Department of Defense organizations, including the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and the National Security Agency (NSA). As part of this work, he investigated technologies such as intrusion detection systems, firewall technology, computer forensics, and virtual private networks, as well as “NSA-Grade” quality security countermeasures.
Concurrent with his cyber security responsibilities, Gagnon serves as a vice president in the Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems within MITRE’s Department of Defense Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence FFRDC. In this role, he focuses on support to the U.S. intelligence agencies, military intelligence organizations, and the combatant commanders, with a particular emphasis on cyber issues within the Intelligence Community.
MITRE has been a leader in helping government and industry in developing standards that give information technology vendors a common platform for defining and guarding against software vulnerabilities. The company’s open source programs, including Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®), Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language (OVAL®), Common Platform Enumeration (CPE(TM)), and Common Configuration Enumeration (CCE(TM)), are widely used tools to protect data and information.
About The MITRE Corporation
The MITRE Corporation (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit organization that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.
Source: MITRE Corporation
Utica College Breaks New Ground in Cyber Security, Cyber Intelligence With First-of-Its-Kind Master’s Degree
March 31, 2010
Counterterrorism, Counterespionage, Forensic Training for Advanced Professionals
UTICA, N.Y. The threat of cyberterrorism is real and rapidly expanding, warned FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, speaking at a conference recently.
Cyber crime — including cyber terrorism, cyber espionage and online fraud — poses a grave threat to national security, economic health and even personal safety. Utica College has designed a new master’s degree that will answer these critical national needs and arm professionals with the skills they need to prevent and counter the growing threat of cyber attacks.
The new degree, Cybersecurity – Intelligence and Forensics, is the first of its kind with an emphasis on intelligence and the global complexities of infrastructure operation and protection.
A pioneer in economic crime, cybersecurity and criminal justice education, Utica College addresses a growing need for professionals with advanced knowledge on how to proactively safeguard computer systems and online data against increasingly sophisticated attack and infiltration techniques.
“Dependent on systems that are vulnerable to attack, private industry, as well as government and military officials, are in serious need of professionals with this highly specialized education,” said George Curtis, dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies. “Utica College, with an outstanding track record in economic crime, criminal justice and cyber security and information assurance programs, is ideally positioned to offer this degree.”
The degree will be offered on line beginning this fall, with two residencies in the world-class Economic Crime and Justice Studies building at Utica College. UC is home to the Computer Forensics Research and Development Center (CFRDC); the Economic Crime Institute (ECI); and the Center for Identity Management and Information Protection (CIMIP) of Utica College, which has garnered national attention for its landmark study of perpetrators of ID theft.
The program offers two specializations:
- Cybersecurity: Designed for professionals interested in cyber intelligence and counterintelligence, cyber counterterrorism, and cyber countersabotage, the curriculum covers analysis of global and national cybersecurity policies, the study and protection of critical infrastructures, as well as operations involving cyber threats and defense.
- Computer Forensics: Designed for professionals interested in the investigative side of major cyber crime, the curriculum emphasizes a comprehensive understanding of the forensic tools and techniques used to investigate and analyze network-related incidents and digital devices. Coursework also focuses on the important task of collecting and preserving digital evidence.
Students in the program may wish to explore new careers or expand their current knowledge base in counter intelligence, defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and computer forensics.
“Utica College designed this program in response to an appeal from cybersecurity professionals in the public and private sectors for the development of a graduate program in cybersecurity,” said Randall K. Nichols, director of the new program. “The addition of the master’s program to our suite of economic crime, computer forensics, cybersecurity and information assurance programs reflects the burgeoning needs in the field.”
More information about the online Master of Science in Cybersecurity – Intelligence and Forensics is available atwww.onlineuticacollege.com/programs/masters-cybersecurity.asp
About Utica College
Located in the heart of Central New York, Utica College is a comprehensive, independent, private institution. Utica Collegeoffers regionally accredited campus-based and online bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, with options for study in a variety of fields, including business administration, economic crime management, criminal justice, and health care. All courses are taught by highly experienced, credentialed faculty whose accomplishments are renowned throughout their respective industries.
