Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Paul Coffy, center, lead cybersecurity analyst for the Defense...... read more read more
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The Defense Information Systems Agency - West Virginia National Guard Mission Assurance Cyber team, like so many other organizations, had concerns early on in the pandemic about how they could successfully complete their mission in support of the warfighter.
However, those concerns became the driving force that is propelling the group forward.
The primary goal of the DISA WVNG MA-C team, comprised of 13 voluntarily activated West Virginia Army and Air National Guardsmen, is to assess DISA infrastructure across the globe. This mission requires travel in order to assess these assets, so the team has had to re-adjust efforts in light of the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19.
“Everyone has a plan until they don’t, and obviously the pandemic was a huge blow to our travel schedule,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Paul Coffy, lead cybersecurity analyst for the team. “We had to get innovative in order to stay on the cutting edge in terms of cybersecurity and mission assurance.”
What the team lacked in travel miles for 2020, they made up for with ingenuity and a laundry list of “firsts”, to include developing policy and navigating uncharted cyber territory. The team developed benchmarks to assist in standardizing cybersecurity assessments across the Department of Defense. They sharpened their individual skillsets to further the team’s overall subject matter expertise. Additionally, they assisted with new endeavors outside of their usual assessing capability, including supply chain risk management and developing mission assurance education pathways.
The team members also forged new partnerships outside of DISA and the WVNG – namely, with West Virginia University. Senior leaders from all three entities came together in December to discuss the creation of the DISA Mission Assurance Operations Center based out of the Morgantown National Guard Readiness Center. This effort will be further solidified in the future as students from WVU’s Statler College of Engineering will work with the DISA WVNG MA-C team, developing the site into a Cyber Center of Excellence.
”This partnership with West Virginia University is the start of how we can work together to create a better West Virginia and a more secure country,” Coffy said. “We’re excited to see where our teamwork will take us into the future as we enhance the nation’s security posture. Training and educating the future of cybersecurity leaders is how we get there.”
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2021 15:16 |
| Story ID: | 391431 |
| Location: | MORGANTOWN, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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