The Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) hosted Titans breakfast at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, on Nov. 18 drawing more than 500 members of the region’s technology community.
The event featured Army Cyber Command Commanding General Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, former Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
NVTC Vice Chair Todd Stottlemyer, of Acentia, served as moderator, during which panelists shared their insights on various cyber threats facing the U.S. and what business, government and military leaders should be doing to protect against them.
Lt. General Cardon highlighted the need for a mechanism for industry and government to share cybersecurity professionals and also explained how today’s policy framework is not effective for combatting 21st century threats. He also expressed the importance of the government keeping up with technology that transitions much faster than current government acquisition processes can keep up with.
In the private sector, Chertoff suggested that corporate boards need to focus more on cybersecurity as a governance and strategy issue, not just a technology issue and highlighted the value of training and incentivizing good behavior among employees.
Mueller explained that it is impossible to protect everything, so companies should identify their most important assets and data, who wants those assets and how they are connected in order to prioritize their cybersecurity efforts.
