Cybersecurity Professionals: The New Warfighters for National Security
Rodney A. Newton, an Information Security Professional with over 20 years of experience, delivered a presentation on the role and importance of cybersecurity regarding national defense. Mr. Newton also discussed career prospects in the world of cybersecurity. This event occurred from 03:30 P.M. until 04:30 P.M. on Thursday, January 25th, through Zoom and was sponsored by Temple University. Mr. Newton started by informing us about the current situation of cybersecurity. Cyber-attacks against Americans have been at an all-time high for the past 2 years. Mr. Newton shared that 1/20 organizations in the U.S. were targets of ransomware attacks in the last year, and 26 billion records have been affected. Moreover, the U.S. suffers a $600 billion loss of Intellectual Property (IP) every year, which may put individuals’ lives in danger, e.i., military troops. This statement suggests that a significant cybersecurity attack against the Department of Defence will negatively impact National Security by weakening the ability of the U.S. to defend against such threats. Such attacks could expose sensitive and classified information, such as military strategy or research, which leads to the loss of strategic advantage. This statement led to Mr. Newton speaking about the role of the IT Audit professionals. I learned that these individuals help improve an organization’s security by identifying vulnerabilities, evaluating controls, and offering solutions to reduce risk. To conclude, these individuals help organizations protect sensitive data, maintain customer trust, and minimize the effect of security breaches.