The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) today in partnership with the State of Maryland and Montgomery County. The NCCoE has been developed for the explicit purpose of working collaboratively with industry, academia and non/not-for-profit organizations to enhance American economic competitiveness.
Rather than being focused on issues of primary interest to government and academia, the Center’s mission is practical and pragmatic — and will be driven by industry participation. The NCCOE’s business-centric mission is:
Strengthening U.S. economic growth by accelerating adoption of integrated cybersecurity tools and techniques that promote automated and trustworthy e-government and e-commerce.
The NCCoE is a much needed step away from the myth that there is an inherent conflict between business needs and security needs. The NCCoE is also a tangible demonstration that the federal government can and does undertake projects which benefit business. Dr. Patrick Gallagher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, Dr. Charles Romine, Director of NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory, and Donna Dodson, Chief of NIST’s Computer Security Division and Acting Executive Director of the NCCoE, strongly emphasized the collaborative, pro-business, pro-competition character of the Center.
Although the NCCoE will be working collaboratively with business and academia, it will not be picking winners and losers; it is not rebranded industrial policy. The goal of the NCCoE is to work with partners in developing solutions to cyber security business problems through practical guidance which is specific enough to be usefully applied in diverse organizations. NIST’s Chief Counsel explained that Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) would be used as the vehicle for formal cooperation between stakeholders and the Center.
The Center’s structure and operations are built around business use cases that are put forth by industry. The Center’s initial use case will focus on securing electronic health information.
The NCCoE is a tool companies of all sizes can leverage to help build their businesses. The challenge for industry it to recognize and participate in the pro-growth opportunities being offered through the NCCoE by the Department of Commerce/NIST, the State of Maryland and Montgomery County, MD.
FISMA Focus looks forward to participating in the activities of the NCCoE.
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