The National Security Agency's Office of State and Local Affairs has invited Chairman & District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill to speak at the National Executive Leadership Academic Panel at
the 2017 National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama on Wednesday, June 7.
Commissioner Underhill was honored to accept, but was not surprised due to the recent buzz in the industry about the Escambia County area.
He explains, "Escambia County is very much on the map in the national cyber discussion. Our area has been on the cutting edge for years in the military cyber world, long before it was a household word. More recently, the
Department of Homeland Security has found Escambia County to be the ideal location to support its growing cyber mission. Additionally, the
University of West Florida has been named by the National Security Agency as the
National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Regional Resource Center for the Southeastern region. This along with NSA's expanded operations in our community through their training programs and joint cyber analysis course at Corry Station, has turned the conversation nationwide to what Escambia County has to offer the cyber field.”
NSA's Director of the Office of State and Local Affairs Judith Kain Emmel said the invitation was extended to Commissioner Underhill based on his advocacy for growing the cyber workforce.
"We thought it would be extremely beneficial and interesting to hear Commissioner Underhill's perspective as an elected official in Florida, on how to keep cybersecurity in the forefront of state/local government, and particularly what is being done in the cyber security education arena for the state," Kain Emmel said.
The National Cyber Security Summit is the preeminent event for cyber training, education and workforce development aimed at protecting our nation’s infrastructure from the ever-evolving cyber threat. Held in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the nation’s largest technological hubs, the summit attracts commercial companies; healthcare, automotive and energy industries; academia; Department of Defense organizations; and civilian departments and agencies including DHS, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Army, NASA, Tennessee Valley Authority, National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. The National Cyber Summit is supported by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
