Introducing the National Security Cyber Assistance Program (NSCAP)
ABSTRACT
The demand to improve the robustness and survivability of National Security Systems (NSS) continues unabated, as each year the number and sophistication of cyber attacks from a variety of sources—nations, criminal and hacking groups, and individuals with malicious intent—increase. As a measure to address this problem, the National Security Agency/Information Assurance Directorate (NSA/IAD) has launched the NSCAP accreditation initiative, designed to make available a pool of qualified cyber-security service providers for supporting NSS owners and operators when similar services are not readily available from within their organizations. The NSCAP accredits service providers who meet NSA-developed criteria in the field of Cyber Incident Response Assistance (CIRA). In the future, NSCAP may be expanded to include the accreditation of Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) service providers.
AUTHORS
Information Assurance Directorate
National Security Agency, Maryland, United States
Gregory W. Hale was a Program Director with the NSA, where he led a team comprised of government and contractor personnel in developing performance standards to accredit companies that provide Intrusion Detection, Incident Response, Vulnerability Assessment/Analysis, and Penetration Testing services that are designed to meet the growing cyber defense needs of the U.S. government. Mr. Hale has an M.B.A. in Business Management from Touro University International and an M.S. in Information Assurance from Colorado Technical University. He has more than 39 years of combined military and civilian experience in the fields of electro-mechanical engineering, telecommunications, computer science, information assurance, and organizational leadership and management. Mr. Hale retired in February 2014.
Information Assurance Directorate
National Security Agency, Maryland, United States
Ronald M. Lenzner is Systems Engineer and Project Director with the National Security Agency directing operational aspects of NSA’s National Security Cyber Assistance Program. Mr. Lenzner holds a master’s of science in Management Information Systems, earned a graduate certificate as an Information Systems Analyst, and was awarded the title of Master by the National Security Agency’s Technical Track Program. He is also an adjunct facility instructor with National Cryptologic School for digital communications and has over 37 years with the Department of Defense.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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