Abstract: Who would have thought a Russian language Human Intelligence Officer in 1986 would have to quickly develop what is now called “cybersecurity” savvy?  My personal convoluted career evolution from pure linguist to using language to develop the US government approach and understanding of what is now called cybersecurity is a microcosm of the path of “cyber” in the US Government.  From the earliest days in the 1980s when military, industry and government communications became more interconnected and weapons systems began to be more automated, it became clear that this was both an advantage and a disadvantage.  The concept of cyber evolved from Electronic Warfare to Information Operations/Warfare, to computer network defense/exploitation/attack, and finally to Cybersecurity.  It was clear even in the 1980s that China and Russia had a head start understanding the “cyber” concepts as they relate to espionage, technology transfer, intrusion and information gathering.  That trend has continued with Russia and China staying well ahead of the US in their cybersecurity offensive and defensive efforts.  The recent Solar Winds incident is all we need to illustrate that concept, not to mention the election tampering and the USPACOM hack by China over a dozen years ago and many more. 

Bio: Ms. Bliss is the Director of Cybersecurity Programs at UCCS and has been involved in cybersecurity (and all it was called along the way) for over 25 years. At UCCS she is working to provide additional depth and breadth to the existing UCCS cybersecurity programs by expanding hands on experiences for students, bringing cybersecurity across the campus in academic programs and campus practices, increasing industry involvement, and meeting workforce demand. 

Most recently, she was at PPCC for 5 years and is leading the college Cybersecurity efforts through increasing the PPCC profile and footprint in cybersecurity.  She has developed Monthly Cyber Capture the Flag events with partner Secure Set; obtained for PPCC, through a Department of Defense Grant, the Center of Academic Excellence for 2 year schools (CAE2Y) designation by NSA; brought to PPCC, a DHS Champion, highly engaged members of  industry, academia and K-12 for Annual DHS National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) events for 2 years; developed a High School Summer Cybersecurity Internship Program “Cyber Prep” funded by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Regional Area Multistake Partnerships (RAMPS) Grant.  Before coming to PPCC she worked for 25 years in the intelligence community, as the NORAD Deputy Senior Analyst and Chief of Plans, supporting the government’s efforts in understanding the evolution of cyber since the early 1990s on cyber, information operations and warfare, and computer network defense/attack.

This talk is part of the TCP Seminar Series, for more information about this series please visit the TCP Website