(TNS) — A senior White House cybersecurity official said in San Antonio that tech companies must take more responsibility for designing systems that protect users' data and encourage students to pursue federal jobs in the industry. I urged them to consider it.
A top priority of the National Cybersecurity Strategy is to take the burden of cybersecurity off the individual, Jake Brown, acting director of the National Cyber Bureau, said Friday at Texas A&M San Antonio's “Tech Fiesta.''
“Big tech companies actually build all of our technology, and if they make my dad or my 13-year-old twins a single point of failure and click the wrong link, all of a sudden they're doing more work than they do on cybersecurity.” resources. All of their personal information is at risk,” he said.
The administration's strategy also calls for long-term investment in the industry.
“What we've been doing for about 40 years is bolting cybersecurity into everything we build…and bolting cybersecurity into the backend is actually cybersecurity It turns out that's not the most efficient way to do that,” Brown said.
The strategy is part of President Biden's Investment Agenda for America, a $1.8 trillion spending package made up of bipartisan infrastructure, chip and science, and anti-inflation legislation. As an example, Brown said the bill would provide $20 million in federal investment to modernize San Antonio's power grid, an effort that also includes strengthening the system's cybersecurity.
“Our hope is that people in the cyber industry across the country see these projects in action and understand that cyber is an opportunity to be implemented,” he said. “As you watch these projects unfold…reach out to the people in your community who have been awarded contracts to implement these programs and say, 'How can we help you get involved?' I hope they tell you, is it built into these programs to make sure that cybersecurity is built into the front end? And it's been 20 years since all of these projects were built. These investments are secure by design, as opposed to having to go through a cyber attack later.”
Key to their approach is a strong workforce.
“It's great to have a strategy. It's great to have resources,” Brown said. these projects. ”
His office recently launched a “tech hiring sprint” targeting federal job openings across the country, including San Antonio. He said this approach streamlines the process for applicants and “removes the need to write 50 different resumes to 50 different agencies,” adding that Texas currently has 36,000 resumes, including 4,500 in San Antonio. He added that there are several cyber job openings.
About 100 people attended Friday afternoon's event.
Freshman Eirik Marquez moderated the event and said he hopes to raise the profile of TAMUSA's cybersecurity program.
“We are in the process of expanding the program,” he said. “Everyone knows about UTSA, and we are one of the schools in San Antonio that offers a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity.
Chong Yang, director of the university's Center for Information Technology and Cybersecurity, said Brown's visit is helping raise the profile of the program.
“A lot of people don’t know our program exists, and I think this is a turning point,” she said.
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