Booz Allen’s Angie Messer Joins 100 Executive Women at First-Ever “Cybersecurity Women on Capitol Hill"
From talking toys to internet-connected cameras, there is no shortage of ways the Internet of Things (IoT) can be applied to enrich consumers’ lives—and expose users to new cyberattacks. To educate congressional members and staff on some of the most pressing cybersecurity issues, the Executive Women’s Forum brought top cybersecurity thought leaders to the Hill for the first-ever “Cybersecurity Women on Capitol Hill” event. On Tuesday, May 16, Booz Allen’s Cyber Leader, Executive Vice President Angie Messer joined 100 executive women to share their cybersecurity knowledge at a series of meetings and discussion panels for members of Congress and staff.
During the sequence of meetings and panels, executives outlined best practices on a wide range of cybersecurity topics from policy to infrastructure to workforce development. Messer, who moderated a panel on Secure IoT, discussed evolving cyber threats such as polymorphic worms (viruses that avoid detection by changing constantly) and ransomware.
“The public and private sectors need to work together to protect IoT users. There are dimensions of responsibility from the consumer to industry to government,” Messer said.
Participants in the Secure IoT panel offered three recommendations for public and private sector cybersecurity leaders:
- Build cybersecurity into the beginning of the innovation cycle, not the end. Move from the “hurry up, release, and patch” model of software development to develop a more proactive security stance.
- Hire Chief Information Security Officers who can strategically navigate network security.
- Pool resources so that larger companies, organizations and agencies can mentor and aid those with fewer resources. A good place to start is joining an industry-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers to learn how leaders are dealing with cybersecurity attacks and threats.
Booz Allen is committed to working in partnership with organizations in the public and private sectors to share knowledge and best practices around pressing cybersecurity issues and threats.
For more information on Booz Allen’s Cyber offerings visit www.boozallen.com/expertise/cyber.html.
