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DEF CON 20 - Mark Weatherford - The Christopher Columbus Rule and DHS

162 views · Published 30 October 2013 · 48:06 · Indexed 29 September 2026

Channel: DEFCONConference · 2013 · Science & Technology

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The Christopher Columbus Rule and DHS
Mark Weatherford Deputy Undersecretary for Cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) at the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"Never fail to distinguish what's new, from what's new to you." This rule applies to a lot people when they think about innovation and technology in the government. At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in addition to running the National Cybersecurity and Communication Integration Center (NCCIC), the US-CERT and the ICS-CERT, they work daily with companies from across the globe to share critical threat and vulnerability information. DHS also supports and provides funding for a broad range of cutting-edge cybersecurity research initiatives, from the development and implementation of DNSSEC to sponsoring the use of open source technologies and from development of new cyber forensics tools to testing technologies that protect the nation's industrial control systems and critical infrastructures. This is not your grandfather's Buick! During this presentation Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity Mark Weatherford will talk about research and training opportunities, the growing number of cybersecurity competitions sponsored by DHS, and how they are always looking to hire a few good men and women.

Mark Weatherford is the Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) at the United Stated Department of Homeland Security. Weatherford most recently served as the Vice President and Chief Security Officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), where he directed the organization's critical infrastructure and cybersecurity program. He previously served as the Chief Information Security Officer in the State of California's Office of Information Security, and as Chief Security Officer for the State of Colorado, where he helped establish the state's first cybersecurity program. Weatherford is a former Naval Cryptologic Officer, where he led the Navy's Computer Network Defense operations and the Naval Computer Incident Response Team.

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