DSU to host panel with Cyberspace Solarium Commission
August 28, 2020
Dakota State is hosting the Cyberspace Solarium Commission as they release their most recent white paper on cybersecurity workforce development through a video webinar on Friday, Sept. 4 at 2:30 p.m. CST. The event “Growing a Strong Federal Cyber Workforce” will discuss the importance of organizing, recruiting, developing, and retaining the federal cybersecurity workforce.
The program will feature a panel of leading cybersecurity workforce development experts from The Cyberspace Solarium and Dakota State University. Representing the Cyberspace Solarium are Commissioners Chris Inglis, former deputy director of the National Security Agency, currently serving as the Looker Distinguished Visiting Professor of Cyber Studies at the United States Naval Academy, Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chairman of National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, Schmidt Futures, technical advisor to the board of Alphabet, former executive chairman and CEO of Google, and Representative Jim Langevin who is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. Representing Dakota State University is Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, president and Dr. Pat Engebretson, dean of The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences.The panel will be moderated by Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, Associate Dean of The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences.
Commissioners Inglis and Langevin are featured as the keynote panelists, sharing the report on cybersecurity workforce development. Inglis began his career at the NSA as a computer scientist in the National Computer Security Center, and in 1997 was promoted to the agency’s Senior Executive Service and Congressman Langevin is the Chairman of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
“The Cyberspace Solarium Commission was established to identify and develop a national strategy to protect the country against cyber-attacks. Dakota State University is a national leader in cybersecurity in higher education and contributes to developing the needed technical and skilled workforce. In this panel, we will discuss how to recruit and retain the cybersecurity workforce of today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Podhradsky, moderator of the panel.
"Without talented cyber professionals working the keyboard, all the cutting-edge technology in the world cannot protect the United States in cyberspace. If we do not take action now to ensure that our talented and experienced workforce continues to grow, we are leaving our country vulnerable to future cyber attacks," said CSC Co-Chairs Senator Angus King (I-ME) and Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
Dakota State University is located in Madison, S.D. Founded in 1881, DSU offers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs through its colleges of arts and sciences, business and information systems, computer and cyber sciences, and education. DSU has a special focus on the development, application, implications, and impacts of computing, information technologies and cyber security in all areas of human endeavor.
These efforts are housed in The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences, a nationally recognized and pioneering institution of innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, and world-class scholarship and education.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) was established in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 to "develop a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States cyberspace against cyber-attacks of significant consequences."