We are excited to welcome GTSC Mentor General Dynamics IT for a mentor session on how they view the homeland and national security market, how to do business with them, and their approach toward small business.
Laura Jones, Vice President of Business Development and Ludmilla Parnell, Director of Small Business Programs will join us for this in-depth session.
Small businesses only.
DHS has posted more details about its upcoming “Industry Conversation” to increase industry’s understanding of the mission, promote a dialog, and forward the mission. The attached document out lines the expectations and agenda of the day and asks industry to consider the appropriate participants for this engagement. DHS has said that this will be the first in a series of such conversations, being kicked off by Secretary Jeh Johnson and other officials from the Department at this event February 25th.
Read the agenda here: DHS Strategic Industry Conversation Update – January 30
GTSC last night honored those who make the contracting world a better place for both the government and for our market.
Ronald Gallihugh, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Transportation Security Administration and his procurement team, were recognized as Federal Small Business Champions of the Year; Pherson Associates for Small Business Member of the Year; Agilex as Mid-tier Member of the Year; Harris as Mentor of the Year; Sara Schroerlucke, Program Manager in Customs & Border Protection, as Federal Most Valuable Player; Michelle Mrdeza, Senior Advisor to Cornerstone Government Affairs and founding Strategic Partner of GTSC as Strategic Advisor of the Year; Government Contracting Weekly as Strategic Partner of the Year; and Jim Williams, co-founder of Schambach & Williams as the 2014 Market Maven.
In honor of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, join GTSC and Strategic Partner Dickstein Shapiro for a look at what you need to do today to be cyber compliant with government requirements. Also learn what compliance issues may be ahead with several important initiatives from NIST and GSA-DOD.
“Cyber Security Compliance for Government contractors: What You Need to Know to Stay Ahead of the Curve”
SPEAKERS:
Justin Chiarodo, Partner
Andrew Smith, Associate
Click here to hear this important Webinar.
Join us on November 6 for an incredibly insightful and practical Leadership Training symposium on the proficiency, skills, communication and other responsibilities that accompany becoming a “prime” contractor. As more and more small businesses are thrust into the prime role, this session will teach current and future leaders the know-how, practical tools and understanding of the often complex and involved roles of the prime contractor.
GTSC has engaged some of the foremost experts in government and industry to provide attendees with practical advice on:
>>the five essential ingredients of a successful prime contractor
>>operational and business development essentials for excellent execution and delivery
>>real-world case studies from successful small and mid-term firms
>>how the government sees success
>>how winning these contracts is a core element of strategic growth
>>a strategic pipeline for future priming opportunities
Register HERE.
Event Chair Andrea McCarthy, President, HARP
Join GTSC for this exciting mentor session with a special focus on cyber security. GTSC Mentor Harris Corporation will discuss the threats facing government contractors both from a prime and Agency perspective, what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) looks for in small businesses wanting to work with the agency, and what they look for in teaming partners. This session will cover the screening process, financials, and cyber security requirements.
FEATURING:
Keith Bryars
Client Executive, Federal Law Enforcement & National Security, Harris Corporation
Nickolas Savage
Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Agenda:
· Introductions
· Cybersecurity and the Threat
· Partnering with government
· Teaming with Harris
· Teaming with small businesses
· Networking session
Harris Leaders to Participate:
· Keith Bryars, Client Executive Law Enforcement
· Etmara Smith, Small Business Manager
· Gary Kay, Security Solutions Director
· Matt Zirpoli, Business Development Manager
Annually, the Government Technology & Services Coalition joins forces with InfraGard of the National Capital Region to survey our members and other private sector companies to help understand the cyber security environment, threats and trends. We do this during Cyber Security Awareness month to bring attention to this critical homeland and national security issue and to constantly inform our products and services to help you identify, mitigate and prevent cyber attacks.
This cyber security survey was created to produce an estimate of cyber security incidents occurring in the private and non-profit sector, focusing heavily on companies operating in the Washington, D.C. region. The survey seeks to understand the private sector’s awareness, understanding, preparedness and gaps related to cyber security intrusions and attacks. The results will provide the basis for enhancing or initiating efforts to strengthen the information sharing and awareness to inform our public private partnerships and create meaningful programming and tools to combat the cyber threat.
Survey Scope: The survey collects data on the type and frequency of computer security incidents in which a computer was used as the means of committing a crime against the company or as a conduit through which other intrusion and/or criminal activity was perpetrated. It also collects data about the type and size of the company, cyber security practices, and computer infrastructure.
Reporting Period: The reporting period for this survey is calendar year 2013.
Survey Confidentiality: Your responses to this survey will be seen by individuals from the sponsoring entities who agree to uphold the confidentiality of your responses and use the information only for statistical/reporting purposes from which no individual company or entity will be identified.
Every year, the Government Technology & Services Coalition beats the drum of cyber security – particularly during October’s Cyber Security Awareness Month.
We pull out the cute little monster virus icons, we parade a series of sessions, webinars and blogs about the perils of ignoring cyber security, and try to provide some tangible steps for small firms – or really ALL firms — to implement to be responsible partners to their Federal clients.
There is still quite a bit of complacency — but the threat – to our nation and to our assets is very real. Most recently, the Senate Armed Services Committee found that Chinese government hackers have repeatedly infiltrated the computer systems of major U.S. companies including government contracting firms of all sizes – to find out about the movement of U.S. troops and military equipment.
U.S. Transportation Command, or Transcom, was aware of only two of the intrusions. Gaps in reporting requirements and a lack of information sharing left the U.S. military largely unaware of the computer compromises of its contractors.
What the Senate Armed Services Committee really found – is that cyber security, information sharing, defending our systems MATTERS NOW. And that protecting “our systems” is protecting a complex ecosystem of both public and private entities enmeshed through so many access points it is virtually impossible to untangle them all. Detecting the patterns of attack requires a complex collaboration between government and industry.
Although efforts to address cyber security are still “in process” – for contractors the writing is on the wall.
Currently – cyber security is still “voluntary.” To satisfy President Obama’s Executive Order on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cyber security – this year we saw the release of two reports that map out the future of cyber in procurement: The DOD- GSA report on Improving Cybersecurity and resilience through acquisition and the NIST’s Cyber Security Framework — a description of what should be in a cyber security program.
The “mandatory” is coming: late last year, DOD required companies handling ‘unclassified controlled technical information’ to implement security controls and report incidents within 72 hours of discovery. This is only the beginning.
Lawmakers are using the tools at their disposal to tighten up security through procurement — a provision was added to the annual National Defense Authorization Act to tighten requirements for defense contractors to report cyber attacks by known or suspected government actors.
So, everyone is – or should be — preparing. But there are still important questions like, “when are my systems ‘secure’? what happens when I am the victim of an attack? What if I’ve done all the right things?”
To find some answers, most contractors are watching the examples. USIS – a government contracting firm that performed background investigations for the government – is currently front page news. After detecting a breach, the company reported it to the Department of Homeland Security. Subsequently their contracts pertaining to background checks with both DHS and OPM were suspended.
At first blush, that sends an ominous message. However, the reality of “cyber” is that every company is vulnerable and every company from Lockheed Martin to the much smaller USIS have fallen victim to hackers, breaches, attacks of one kind or another.
What we are learning every day is that partnerships – BEFORE an attack – will make or break our success. And that “waiting” is not a strategy.
So you’re probably thinking, well that’s all well and good Kristina. What does it mean for me?
It means that if you are working with Federal clients, this is that moment when you look up from the weeds to see the trees:
FIRST: Join the FBI’s InfraGard – or have your CISO join. The public private partnership’s mission is to protect the critical infrastructure of the United States and its roots rest squarely in cyber – protecting our digital infrastructure. They provide invaluable alerts, lots of training and information to assure you are ahead of the curve and know who to call, when.
SECOND: Join an organization, network, information sharing exchange that will educate you about the cyber requirements coming down the pike. Learn what is required – and build your cyber security practices beyond that. Cyber security is a new cost of doing business with the Federal government and you need to be ahead of the curve.
THIRD: Use the free resources available to you to develop your cyber plan and educate your employees. GTSC has a slate of resources available to help small and mid-sized companies educate their employees and the FCC has developed a free cyber security planner for business. StaySafeOnline.org has the resources and information to educate your workforce are there – you just need to use them.
Kristina Tanasichuk is CEO and founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition. She is also President and founder of Women in Homeland Security and Executive Vice President of the InfraGard National Capital Members Alliance. She has worked in homeland security and domestic infrastructure for nearly 20 years.
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