Maryland Cyber Conference at ARINC Attracts Veteran-Owned Small Business Leaders
Annapolisâ€"Maryland has the potential to become the nation’s epicenter for cybersecurity, with its regional concentration of government agencies, defense facilities, high-tech industry and leading academic institutions.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Annapolis—Maryland has the potential to become the nation’s epicenter for cybersecurity, with its regional concentration of government agencies, defense facilities, high-tech industry and leading academic institutions. And Veteran-owned Small Businesses play a critical role in helping to realize that potential.
That was the message of a day-long cyber conference on Thursday, co-sponsored by the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs and ARINC Incorporated, at the company’s Annapolis headquarters.
Up to a hundred Veteran-owned Small Business leaders with a focus on cyber and IT had the chance to hear about opportunities in the cyber environment from Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown and Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Edward Chow.
Keynote speaker Dennis Bartko, Special Assistant to the Director for Cyber at the National Security Agency, described key challenges in cybersecurity today and NSA’s intelligence role. He said NSA recognizes no trade-off between individual liberties and national security. “We protect both,” he said, “and we must, because our mission is firmly based on the Constitution.” The NSA’s Director of Small Business Programs, Mark Barnett, was also a featured panelist at the conference.
Frederick J. Ferrer, ARINC’s Director for Cyberspace, led the event and introduced panel discussions exploring five areas: the cyber requirements of government agencies and of the large, medium and small businesses that support them; the landscape of commercial cyber concerns; the range of educational opportunities provided by the region’s academic institutions; and how participation in regional industry alliances and technical councils can aid in networking and business development.
Executives from ARGO-Systems, TeleCommunication Systems, and Science Applications International Corporation headed the Industry discussion, while representatives of Commerce First Bank, Anne Arundel Health Systems, Constellation Energy, and ARINC Global took part in the Commercial Business panel discussion.
The Academic panel included representatives of Capitol College, Anne Arundel Community College, University of Maryland University College, and University of Maryland Baltimore County. Representatives from the Tech Council of Maryland, Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, and Maryland Higher Education Council led the discussion on how small businesses can network to succeed.
As the conference concluded, Ferrer thanked participants and reminded the audience that ARINC has a vital interest in supporting the whole spectrum of cyber activities. “The goal of today’s conference has been to empower, engage, and educate Maryland’s Veteran-owned Small Businesses, so they can take advantage of the cyber opportunities in today’s market,” he said. “I believe we have accomplished some of that, and now I’m looking forward to hearing some of your success stories in the future.”
ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified. For more information, visit the web site at www.arinc.com.
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This story was released on 2011-10-24. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.