NIST Cybersecurity Center Welcomes Industry Partners

PRESS RELEASE

ROCKVILLE -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) will host a signing ceremony for companies who are joining the center as National Cybersecurity Excellence Partners. The new partners will pledge to contribute hardware and software components and share best cybersecurity practices and personnel with the center as part of efforts to address current cybersecurity threats. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Montgomery County Chief Executive Ike Leggett, U.S. Cyber Command Commander/National Security Agency Director/Central Security Service Chief General Keith B. Alexander, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher will deliver remarks at the ceremony.

Following the signing ceremony, reporters will have the opportunity to join Sen. Mikulski and Gen. Alexander on a brief tour of the NCCoE facilities, get a demonstration of a National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) pilot project from Daon, Inc., and learn about other NIST cybersecurity programs. Company representatives will also be on hand for interviews.

The NCCoE was established to bring together experts from industry, government and academia to find practical solutions for today's most pressing cybersecurity needs and to help businesses secure their data and digital infrastructure. Vendors, end users, and researchers will work side by side on specific industry challenges and to encourage the rapid adoption of comprehensive cybersecurity tools that can protect business information.

According to industry surveys, in 2011 more than 174 million records were compromised worldwide, costing businesses billions of dollars and threatening privacy and consumer confidence. Cybersecurity is a challenge for companies large and small, as well as private and public institutions, states and the federal government.

WHAT: National Center of Excellence Partnership Signing Ceremony

WHO: U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley

Montgomery County Chief Executive Ike Leggett

U.S. Cyber Command Commander/National Security Agency Director/ Central Security Service Chief General Keith B. Alexander

Under Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology and Director, NIST Patrick Gallagher

The following individuals will participate in the signing ceremony on behalf of their companies:

Greg Akers, senior vice president, advanced security initiatives, R&D and product assurance, Cisco Systems Inc.

Ned Miller, global chief technology officer of enterprise security products, Hewlett-Packard

Hemma Prafullchandra, chief technology officer and senior vice president of HyTrust Inc.

David Patterson, president of Intel Federal, LLC

Thomas Gann, vice president of government affairs for McAfee Inc.

Vernon Lee, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Federal Civilian Services

Michael Brown, vice president and general manager, RSA federal business

Bill Cull, vice president of federal sales, Splunk Inc.

Gigi Schumm, vice president and general manager, public sector, Symantec Corporation

Brig Lambert, senior director of federal sales, Venafi, Inc.

WHERE: The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence