5.29.24 / Wade Hansen It was a strange thing to be shot at. The emotions one feels as the alarms sound and rockets careen closer are a mix of fear, indignation, adrenaline-fueled exhilaration, and sadness. I was not surprised by the attack - as an intelligence officer deployed to Iraq, I knew we were surrounded by insurgent elements with both the means and the motive. In Iraq, I was part of the world’s most powerful warfighting force. We had amazing resources at our disposal - sophisticated technologies to detect and neutralize rockets, Predator drones to patrol the skies above, training, ...

4.17.24 / Massoud Amin / Think Tank Advisor Emeritus What is in the News affecting our security? The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) permits government surveillance of foreigners without court approval, even those suspected of communication with U.S. citizens, raising concerns about civil liberties. A bill renewing a national security surveillance program faced bipartisan opposition. The Republican-led House blocked the bill, leaving its progress uncertain before the April 19 deadline. The house vote count was 228 in favor and 193 against, blocking the bill's progress [https://lnkd.in/g_i35-sP]. While the FBI and the Department of Justice correctly argue for the program’s necessity ...

CISA shares critical infrastructure defense tips against Chinese hackers By Sergiu Gatlan /Bleeping Computer CISA, the NSA, the FBI, and several other agencies in the U.S. and worldwide warned critical infrastructure leaders to protect their systems against the Chinese Volt Typhoon hacking group. Together with the NSA, the FBI, other U.S. government agencies, and partner Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies, including cybersecurity agencies from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, it also issued defense tips on detecting and defending against Volt Typhoon attacks. Last month, they also warned that Chinese hackers had breached multiple U.S. critical infrastructure organizations and maintained ...

3.13.24 > Elizabeth Stevens Back in 2013, FBI Minneapolis Special Agent Liz Lehrkamp was assigned to the cyber squad and served as the liaison to the InfraGard program. Liz joined the Cyber Security Summit to add government perspective alongside academic, military and private sector advisory board representatives, and that relationship continues today via FBI Private Sector Coordinator / Special Agent John Bonhage. Many members from the InfraGard have presented at and served as Think Tank Advisors to the Summit, including current President Tim Herman and past presidents Mike Johnson, Jerrod Montoya, and yours truly. Partnerships are at the heart of the ...

2.28.24 EDITOR’s NOTE: My role as Communications Director involves outreach with our professional association industry partners, and one of the first meetings I attended was a chapter gathering of the Military Cyber Professionals Association. Think Tank member and MCPA President Brian Morgan introduced me to the group, I gave a quick Summit pitch, and stayed for some people and pizza time. A former member of the military, Cheyne Taylor, introduced himself as a guy working a full-time gig and a future graduate of the UW Stout master’s program. Here’s a bit more from Cheyne as we kick off our 2024 ...

10.18.23 > Paul Veeneman The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are two pivotal entities in the U.S. responsible for maintaining the nation's security and resilience against cyber threats. The NSA is largely tasked with global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. On the other hand, CISA defends the nation's critical infrastructure from both physical and cyber threats, helping to ensure the security, integrity, and resilience of the nation's critical infrastructure systems and networks. Both agencies collaborate to provide guidance and strategies to protect against evolving ...

9.19.23 > Brian Morgan Security burnout. A topic not often discussed, but certainly often experienced. Allow me to read off a few keywords for you here. Ready? EternalBlue. WannaCry. NotPetya. Heartbleed. Shellshock. Solarwinds. Log4J. Is your heart racing? Are your palms sweating? Are you dizzy, perhaps? If not, then chances are you either don’t work in information/IT security, or haven’t been paying enough attention over the past decade. These are the insidious incidents that kept IT and security staff late into the night. Sometimes all night, depending on the risk level. They were “significant emotional events” at most organizations. And ...

8.28.23 > Guest Blog Feature >Thomas Tomalla, Jr. History and Conflicting Priorities I’ve worked in situations where Information Technology (IT) teams and Operational Technology (OT) teams are different and don’t get along. The goal of this article is to demystify OT systems for IT teams, and help find common ground – Technology and Risk Management. IT is the use of computers to handle data, rather than handling it with paper or manual processes. This should be centered around the needs of the business and therefore, the needs of the users. OT is the use of computers to interface with things ...

8.23.23 > Eric Roeske Cyber Security Summit Think Tank representatives bring a fantastic mix of experience and expertise to ensure the Summit offers quality for a variety of audiences. Captain Eric Roeske of the Minnesota State Patrol is a Think Tank member who has more than 20 years of public service and additionally holds a Master of Science in Security Technologies from the University of Minnesota Technological Leadership Institute. “Serving all communities to build a safer Minnesota” is the mission of the State of Minnesota Department of Public Safety, under which the State Patrol is organized. This week’s blog highlights public sector ...