S.C. National Guard Cyber Team attends Congressional event

Courtesy Photo | U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., speaks with U.S. Army Maj. Barbara Mesaros, South Carolina National Guard director of intelligence, U.S. Army Maj. Robert Gresham, South Carolina Army National Guard cyber branch chief, and U.S. Army Col. David Coldren, South Carolina Army National Guard assistant chief of staff for information management, during the State Cyber Day event sponsored by the National Guard and Reserve Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives at the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer, Washington, Oct. 22, 2015. (Courtesy Photo)  

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES

10.30.2015

Story by Capt. Brian Hare 

South Carolina National Guard

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Members and representatives of the South Carolina National Guard’s Computer Network Defense Team (CNDT) attended a State Cyber Day event sponsored by the National Guard and Reserve Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives at the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer, Oct. 22, 2015.

The purpose of the event was to educate congressional members and their staff about the state efforts and partnerships being created across the country in the area of cyber security.

According to U.S. Army Maj. Barbara Mesaros, director of intelligence for the South Carolina National Guard, South Carolina was one of only 15 states selected to participate in the event.

“The reason the 15 were identified was because they seemed to be at the forefront of the cyber training, preparation, and involvement with public-private partnerships within each state,” said Mesaros. “South Carolina has a very good relationship with our public sector and our private sector, particularly within our power industry.”

Mesaros stressed the importance of cyber awareness and protection, both in the public and private sector.

“Cyber is a domain that people are unfamiliar with,” said Mesaros. “Because they are unfamiliar with it, they don’t resource things they don’t understand, they don’t pay attention to it, and they’re less able to see damage that is being done.”

Mesaros pointed out that another reason the South Carolina National Guard team was selected to attend is because they are the only state that offers training in tactical intelligence.

“We’ve trained about 40 states in tactical intelligence,” said Mesaros. “We develop the training and offer it about once a quarter.”

The event also provided an opportunity for the South Carolina team to communicate future goals to legislative members and staff.

“What we would like to have here is a Civil Support Team (CST) construct that belongs to the state as a cyber protection team,” said Mesaros. “This team would support public and private industry here in South Carolina and could be activated as needed.”

Mesaros indicated that the State Cyber Day might become an annual event.

“One of the benefits was going around to the other states to see what they were doing, so that we could implement or talk about their best practices and be aware of what’s working elsewhere,” she said.

• Date Taken: 10.30.2015
• Date Posted: 10.30.2015 12:39
• Story ID: 180430
• Location: WASHINGTON, DC, US