Top 10 Cyber Execs to Watch

Darren Death, ASRC Federal 

Darren Death is vice president of information security and chief information security officer at ASRC Federal. Among other affiliations, he is a member of the invitation-only Forbes Technology Council and a member of the board of advisers of The Cyber Intelligence Initiative for The Institute for World Politics.

Why Watch: ASRC Federal recently achieved a fully compliant rating with NIST SP 800-171 and also implemented the consensus security controls from the Center for Internet Security throughout the organization. Those milestones are part of ARSC Federal’s overarching commitment to continue strengthening its cyber hygiene culture, Death said. Over the next 12 months, Death will be part of the ASRC Federal team working to implement innovative technologies.

“We will be pushing traditional data center-based security capabilities down to the user space, ensuring the security services are provided to the user regardless of geographic location or method of access,” he said.

Amid a renewed push by companies in the federal space to protect themselves and their customers from a cybersecurity standpoint, the investment commitment and buy-in required “cannot be understated,” Death said. He has made it a personal goal to contribute to making the nation more cyber secure.

“I’m proud of the leadership that ASRC Federal has exhibited in this space, and I’m excited to continue spearheading industry-leading projects in the cybersecurity and compliance space,” he said. “I currently support the American Council for Technology — Industry Advisory Council, volunteering on projects that have a direct impact on the cybersecurity of our government agencies. As the cyber threat chief for InfraGard, I serve to provide content and services to the Maryland cybersecurity community that raises awareness and provides actionable information to secure organizational information systems.”

Successful cyber resilience, Death said, begins with communication.   “First, I focus on understanding the various mission requirements, risks and challenges of our organization as we work to support our customers,” he said. “I actively engage with people across ASRC Federal. This open dialogue has really boosted cybersecurity understanding and vigilance throughout the enterprise. I also co-host an internal video series for employees that discusses cybersecurity issues and how they can help keep their customers, our company and their own home networks safe.  It’s changed the dynamic at ASRC Federal — gone are the days when cybersecurity was just an ‘IT issue’ — our employees all recognize our shared and collective responsibility.”

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