The College of Information and Cyberspace known as the "Cyber War College," at USA’s National Defense University, located on historic Fort McNair in US capital Washington DC, hosted their 7th annual Cyber Beacon Conference last month.

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Due to global pandemic, this was the 1st yr this event was hosted virtually & allowed for a broader audience to participate.

The closed event welcomed 100s of attendees from throughout the national security community, including USgovt, industry & academia, allies & partners.

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The purpose of the Cyber Beacon Conference was to gather USA’s top thought leaders & experts on STRATEGIC CYBERSPACE issues for discussion & learning.

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“This purpose directly supports the lines of effort of the National Defense Strategy, especially regarding reform and partnership,” Joseph L. Billingsley, director of strategic engagement at CIC, a lead planner of the event, said.

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This year's conference theme was "Disruption in an Era of Great Power Competition: Pandemic, Infodemic, Space, Cyberspace and Beyond"
and builds off of last year's theme of "Preparing for Disruption,"

Cassandra C. Lewis, acting chancellor of CIC, said.

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"We're very proud of the different orgs & senior leaders who participated in sharing their unique perspectives," Billingsley said, noting that there was good representation from USCyberCommand & Office of Chief Information Officer &
1st time representation from Space Force.

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Air Force Maj Gen Kevin Kennedy, Dir Ops for CyberCom, challenged the audience to think about how the US competes in cyberspace with an evolving strategic & operational environment.

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Other speakers at the event highlighted the importance of competing with adversaries in a highly contested cyberspace domain, including Thomas Wingfield, deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy & former acting chancellor of College of Information & Cyberspace.

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Another speaker, John Sherman, US Dept of Defense principal deputy chief information officer said,

"History has taught us that advantages are constantly eroding. Nothing gives us the preordained right to supremacy in cyberspace and global competition."

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Mark Montgomery, the executive director of the US Cyberspace Solarium Commission, spoke about the many recommended reforms which have been adopted by the US government and already signed into law.

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Congressman James Langevin, cyberspace solarium commissioner and co-chair of the Congressional Cyber Caucus, echoed Montgomery's focus on reforms that better position the United States to compete in cyberspace.

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Both Montgomery and Langevin thanked the College of Information and Cyberspace for its enduring support of the commission.

The College of Information and Cyberspace had also hosted the commission's capstone gathering in 2019.

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Space Force Maj. Gen. Kim Crider, the mobilization assistant to the chief of space operations, noted the importance of developing the educational pipeline of cyber professionals that can help support the mission of the newest military service.

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Recent engagement between Space Force and College of Information and Cyberspace, leveraging existing space domain expertise within the College of Information and Cyberspace, has led to a new pipeline of students.

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Jeff Moss, a leader in the global hacker community, discussed the role of civil society as allies & force multipliers in pursuit of national security.

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Jeff Moss, who has also served as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, also commended the "herculean effort" that Montgomery and Langevin have taken on with the commission.

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Hacker conventions that Moss founded, "DEF CON & Black Hat, provide Dept of Defense personnel a powerful educational & engagement opportunity, especially with 'villages' dedicated to learning about election security,..

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..air & maritime safety & much more" Joseph H. Schafer, chair of the Information Strategy and Disruptive Technology Department at College of Information and Cyberspace, said.

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CIC students also played a prominent role in the event, which included a student panel for the first time.

The panel had US military, interagency & allied representation.

"As an educator, highlighting our students & their insights was a point of pride," Lewis said.

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The students at College of Information & Cyberspace, known as the "Cyber War College," are experienced national security professionals focusing on strategic issues.

The conference was also helpful for those across professional military education community.

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For instance, Navy Cmdr. Dan Brown, an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College who said, "The knowledge I gained will be an immense help in building my lesson plans and leading classroom discussions."

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One attendee, Paul de Souza, president of the non-profit Cyber Security Forum Initiative, described the event as "historic, based on the involvement of the Space Force and so many recognized national leaders in this community, especially Moss, Montgomery and Langevin." 

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Billingsley agreed with the historic nature of this event and put it into a larger context, saying "our college was first established at the dawn of the computer age in the 1960s as the DOD Computer Institute and included instructors like the legendary Grace Hopper.

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"Cyber War College," has evolved over more than half a century to meet the evolving challenges our nation faces.

If there was one 'take-away' from this event, it is that we have much work to be done & with urgency said Joseph Billingsley, dir strategic engagement at CIC.

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Source:
United States Department of Defense

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