Tag: Announcement

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CTM speaks at healthcare cybersecurity community meeting

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Brendan Applegate, Deputy Director for Planning at GT2’s Center for Threat Management spoke on the topic of information superiority during a webinar conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The webinar was part of the Healthcare Cybersecurity Community’s monthly webinar series, which seeks to bring awareness about current events and critical issues in cybersecurity.

Mr. Applegate’s briefing focused on the use of information superiority as a tool to protect and increase the resilience of healthcare information and infrastructure against the evolving threat of cyber attack. Through effective collaboration in collection, analysis, and dissemination of threat information throughout the healthcare community, as well as concerted efforts to deny a cyber adversary the same abilities, healthcare organizations can maintain an edge over disruption of critical services, manipulation of and denial of access to information, and risks to life safety. Many of the insights provided were the result of previous programs conducted by the CTM team across the country in the areas of cyber threat awareness, consequence management, and information sharing.

Mr. Applegate is a recognized subject matter expert in the planning and conduct of operational research programs to evaluate asymmetric threats and the complex interdisciplinary strategies implemented to manage them. Mr. Applegate leverages more than fifteen years of work with the U.S. Navy in the areas of systems engineering, test and evaluation, and field experimentation to communicate the concept of information superiority and the ways it might be leveraged as a strategy to address the cyber threat.

For more information on the HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Community, please visit their website at: http://www.himss.org/get-involved/community/cybersecurity

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CTM conducts MAST Open House and kicks off planning for Coastal Trident 2017

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On November 3, the Center for Threat Management and Port of Hueneme hosted more than 150 partners in port operations and maritime security during the third annual Maritime Advanced Systems and Technology Laboratory’s Open House and Technology Exposition. The event was conducted to kick off the planning process for the 2017 Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program and to facilitate alignment of regional efforts to develop and test relevant technologies with communicated operational needs.

Christina Birdsey, Director of Operations and Security at the Port of Hueneme, MC’d the event and guided participants through an ambitious agenda, which sought to raise awareness about developing and transitional technology efforts throughout Southern California and promote collaboration and innovation between the public and private sectors:

  • Kristin Decas, CEO and Port Director at the Port of Hueneme, kicked off the day’s program with personal greeting and an introduction of distinguished visitors from the offices of local and state government representatives.
  • Brendan Applegate, Deputy Director for Planning at CTM, provided an overview of the Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program and its alignment with technology experimentation conducted under the Port’s MAST laboratory concept and local efforts to support STEM education programs.
  • Scott Brewer, Deputy Director for Operations at CTM, led an Operational Requirements Panel designed to communicate panelists vision for technology and identify potential shortfalls in access to and capabilities of technologies supporting the operations of their organizations. Participants in the panel discussion included Steve Smock (Long Beach Police Department Dive Team), Stan Ziegler (Ventura County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team), Kevin McGowan (Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services), Darrin Smith (Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Technical Surveillance Unit), David Fukutomi (California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services), Raquel Cano (Chiquita), Peter Freiberg (Port Hueneme Police Department), John Demers (Port of Hueneme), and Matt Tarabour (FBI Counter-IED Unit).
  • An Open House period concluded the morning session, providing participants with opportunities to view static and dynamic displays of port operations and maritime security technologies, as well as discuss opportunities for collaboration and field experimentation efforts to be conducted under MAST or Coastal Trident. Students participating as part of the STEM integration were provided with the opportunity to discuss projects that they would be proposing to conduct throughout the school year with technologists and operational partners.
  • The afternoon session of the event was split into several focused working groups. Operational agencies participating in Coastal Trident 2017 participated in the Concept Development Meeting for the program, communicating to the planning team their priorities and objectives for education, experimentation ,and exercise activities. The rest of the participants participated in breakout discussions intended to focus their ideas for how technology might support the operational requirements communicated during the morning’s panel discussion. These technologists were divided into groups based on their focus area – Remotely Operated and Autonomous Systems, Visualization and Decision Support Tools, and Sensors and Data Links.
  • To wrap up the Open House, Brendan Applegate and Scott Brewer facilitated a debrief by the facilitators of the breakout sessions to summarize the discussions and identify the way ahead for MAST and Coastal Trident 2017.

According to the event’s organizers and several enthusiastic participants, the event was a resounding success, providing a unique venue to facilitate collaboration in technology and operations to meet the needs of port operations and maritime security organizations. It also provided a significant springboard for planning and coordination of the Coastal Trident 2017 Regional Port and Maritime Security Program, which will be focused on the multi-dimensional threat of aircraft, surface and underwater vessels, and cyber attacks to maritime commerce, port and maritime operations, and critical infrastructure.

For more information about the MAST Open House and Technology Exposition, please visit the Port of Hueneme’s website: http://www.portofhueneme.org/business/mast-2016/

For details about the Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program, please contact CTM at ctm@gt2.org or (657) 229-5776.

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CTM speaks at San Diego-area cyber security conference

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Brendan Applegate, Deputy Director for Planning at GT2’s Center for Threat Management participated as a panel speaker at Cyberfest 2016, a cyber security conference held at the Hilton La Jolla-Torrey Pines hotel in San Diego, California on October 27. Cyberfest 2016 was the fourth annual cyber security conference produced by the Securing Our eCity Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating a safe and secure digital neighborhood.

Mr. Applegate participated in a panel discussion entitled “Surviving a Cyber Disaster,” which focused on mitigation of a cyber attack’s ability to cripple a business. Panelists discussed topics including ways in which the cyber threat is unique with respect to disaster preparedness, the importance of cyber incident response plans, resources for small and medium-sized businesses to begin planning and preparation to survive a large-scale cyber attack, and the ever-present human factor in implementation of effective cyber security. Many of these insights were the result of a 2013 cyber threat awareness, response, and recovery program conducted by the CTM team in San Diego, in partnership with Securing Our eCity and the City of San Diego.

Mr. Applegate is a recognized subject matter expert in the planning and conduct of operational research programs to evaluate asymmetric threats and the complex interdisciplinary strategies implemented to manage them. Mr. Applegate leverages more than fifteen years of work with the U.S. Navy in the areas of systems engineering, test and evaluation, and field experimentation to communicate the nature of the cyber threat and effective measures to prevent and mitigate the effects of an attack.

For more information about CyberFest 2016, please visit the SOeC website: https://securingourecity.org/cyberfest-2016#scd

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CTM speaks at Los Angeles-area pastors conference

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Scott Brewer, Deputy Director for Operations at GT2’s Center for Threat Management addressed a group of more than 500 pastors and clergy at the “Impact 16” Pastors Conference, held at Azusa Pacific University on October 11. Impact 16 was the fifth annual pastors conference sponsored by KKLA, a faith-based radio station owned and operated by the Salem Media Group serving the greater Los Angeles area.

Mr. Brewer gave a brief introduction outlining the current threat landscape as it applied to faith-based organizations and led a more detailed breakout discussion focusing on safety, security, and planning considerations. The breakout included topics such as physical security, cyber security, threat assessment emergency planning, and specialized responses to incidents such as an active shooter.

Mr. Brewer is a recognized subject matter expert in the areas of emergency planning, response, and management and a leader in advocating for increased security and preparedness resources at faith-based institutions nationwide. Mr. Brewer leverages his extensive experience and lessons learned during more than two decades of work on U.S. Navy, state and local government, and private sector security assessment, planning, and exercise programs to communicate the most effective strategies to manage risk based on complex threats to safety and security.

For more information about the Impact 16 Pastors Conference, please visit the KKLA website: http://www.kkla.com/impact-2016

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Navy’s Center for Asymmetric Warfare transitions to GT2

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As many of our friends and colleagues are aware, we have been hard at work effecting the transition of our team at the Center for Asymmetric Warfare from the federal government to the private sector. The motivation for this transition is two-fold: (1) the Naval Postgraduate School is working under guidance from the Navy to re-prioritize research efforts toward its core mission of academics and (2) the programs conducted by CAW have become increasingly focused on a “whole of society” approach to asymmetric threat response that has outgrown the research mission of the Department of Defense.

Effective October 1, 2016, CAW will be realigning and reconstituting as the Center for Threat Management, a research initiative of Global Trade & Technology. GT2 is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that works to increase the competitiveness of U.S. products and services in the global marketplace. As CTM, we will be complementing this charter by conducting operational research that assists in the implementation of strategies to counter threats to commerce, critical infrastructure, and national security – the complex system upon which global trade relies.

As a non-profit organization, our team continues to serve the public benefit. Many of our partners won’t notice a difference at all in the programs we conduct. Others may notice more flexibility to leverage the resources of both the government and private sector to advance the state of the art in threat management capabilities. What is most important is that our realignment will allow us to continue to conduct the research about which we are passionate.

In the longer term, we are also pursuing partnerships with government and academia in order to support establishment of a Federally-funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) or University-affiliated Research Center (UARC). While this is a much longer process than our initial transition, it is the operational model we hope to ultimately achieve.

We look forward to continuing to work with you, our valued partners, and invite you to reach out to us to learn more about what we’re up to.

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CTM Aerial Missions Unit supports environmental survey efforts by Naval Base Ventura County

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During September and October, CTM’s Aerial Missions Unit provided support to natural resources specialists from Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Naval Base Ventura County evaluating the potential use of small unmanned aircraft to collect mandated field data for threatened and endangered species. Operating 3DRobotics Iris and Aero aircraft systems over the beaches at Naval Base Ventura County-Point Mugu, AMU demonstrated the capabilities of multi-rotor and fixed-wing aircraft to substitute for personnel on foot to survey nesting sites of local California Least Tern and Snowy Plover populations.

Proposed benefits of employing unmanned aircraft in field surveys include improved data quality, increased cost-effectiveness and personnel safety, reduced resource disturbance and damage, enhanced management of threatened and endangered species, and support to the mission of through prevention of mission and operations impediments.

For more information about the Navy’s environmental survey efforts, please visit the NAVFAC Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center’s website at: https://www.navfac.navy.mil/navfac_worldwide/specialty_centers/exwc.html

For more information about CTM’s Aerial Missions Unit, please contact CTM at mailto:ctm@gt2.orgor (657) 229-5776.