LONDON – June 18, 2014 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) called for more robust global partnerships to provide a collective defence against increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks in a keynote address yesterday by Kathy Warden, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, during Information Assurance 2014 (IA14), the U.K. government's flagship event for cyber security and information assurance.
IA14, hosted by the Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), the information security arm of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), took place 16-17 June at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel. The theme for this year's conference was: Cyber Security, Underpinning a Leading Information Economy.
In her remarks, Warden outlined the need for diverse partnerships and for accessing innovation from all quarters. "No one government or company can effect change alone – it is the product of a diverse set of people and organisations, ideas and solutions coming together." Warden highlighted the value of partnerships across academia, industry and government because, "we all have a role to play and those roles must all play together."
Warden noted that even in today's constrained fiscal environment, "academic partnerships provide the opportunity to access and co-develop education, research and make investments in support of tomorrow's cyber defenders." Furthermore, she called for continued investment in strategic academic research from both the public and private sectors to accelerate the pace at which innovations enter operational environments and commercial marketplaces. Warden, in reference to growing academic partnerships in the U.K., said, "we are looking to expand these academic research relationships and are in talks to do so with universities here in the U.K."
"Partnerships among corporations are also necessary," said Warden, emphasizing that "large companies must partner with small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate and combine the latest innovations, approaches, techniques and people necessary to defeat the latest threats. Forming partnerships with SMEs increases the diversity of the technologies and approaches in our solutions."
Fundamental to preserving our freedoms in cyberspace, added Warden, are government partnerships. Warden went on to explain that the laws and regulations governing cyber information exchange "need to reduce the barriers for companies to share with the government, and among themselves, while also limiting the liability in doing so. Corporations must work with international governments to collectively craft these regulations and policies to facilitate information exchange."
She also emphasized the importance of investing in education and training to create the innovators of tomorrow. "All of this technology comes ultimately from people. And if we aren't adequately educating the next generations of innovators, we will all lose in the end."
Warden pointed to the numerous public/private partnerships Northrop Grumman has established to directly address this issue. These include a national youth cyber education programme in the U.S.; the Cybersecurity Research Consortium, an industry/academic cyber research partnership with Carnegie Mellon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue and the University of Southern California; and the Cync Programme with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. These examples are "indicative of the diverse efforts we are sponsoring across all areas of education, training and attracting new innovators into cybersecurity to ensure we have the right people available to defend the cyber space of tomorrow."
On the education front, Warden announced that Northrop Grumman and its association partner would begin collaboration with the Cyber Security Challenge U.K. to extend the U.S. national youth cyber education programme, CyberPatriot, to the U.K.
Finally, Warden called on the U.K. to maintain its role in providing leadership in creating the partnerships necessary to secure cyberspace that spans so many sovereign boundaries. She commended the U.K. government for already leading many of these discussions, pointing out that "the citizens of cyberspace are looking for your continued engagement and perseverance in ensuring that all of our allies and partner nations can and will cooperate in the face of significant cyber threats to our industries and critical infrastructure."
To view the speech and more information about the company at IA14, go to: http://www.northropgrumman.com/Capabilities/Cybersecurity/Pages/PressKit_061714.aspx
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernisation to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.