CTE Caucus, Cybersecurity Caucus Host Briefing on Integrating Cybersecurity into CTE

Jul 25, 2019
Press Release

Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus co-chairs Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) hosted a joint panel discussion with the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus entitled, “Building a Culture of Security: Integrating Cyber into Career and Technical Education.”

The panel featured:

  • Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle, Lead for Academic Engagement, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, NIST
  • Howard W Penrose, President, MotorDoc LLC
  • Kurt John, Chief Cybersecurity Officer, Siemens USA
  • Kevin D.J. Nolten, Director of Academic Outreach, Cyber Innovation Center
  • Sean Lyngaas, Senior Reporter, Cyberscoop; Moderator

In critical infrastructure sectors – whether it’s telecommunications, agriculture or healthcare – a workforce with basic cybersecurity skills is essential to our public safety. As critical infrastructure systems have become increasingly Internet-enabled, or “smart,” malicious cyber actors have targeted them, often with serious consequences.

All critical infrastructure workers, from skilled tradespeople to health technicians and advanced manufacturers, must understand their roles in keeping our systems secure; however, the career and technical education programs that train them rarely incorporate any cybersecurity education. The panel focused on the importance of integrating cybersecurity education in CTE programs for operators of cyber physical systems.