Nearly 100 cybersecurity experts from various NASA missions and centers across the country, each dedicated to making their information networks stronger and safer, shared comradery, creativity, and best practices at this year’s SCaN Security Summit (S3) held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 4-6.
“We virtually locked ourselves in a conference room for several days,” said SCaN Network Integrity Manager Jena Gerrahy, “and, whether it was a policy gap or a sensitive mission requirement, we ‘whiteboarded’ together to find a solution and bolster everyone’s cybersecurity posture. It was a massive success!”
Hosted by the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program’s Network Integrity Team in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the annual S3 is an informal yet critical collaboration of the agency’s frontline defenders of its information technology networks.
“The S3 is a great place to ensure everyone’s on the same page and working together,” said Mike Witt, NASA Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). “We pool ideas and lessons learned to strategize and implement effective IT safeguards while also strengthening our relationships and rapport with our counterparts across the agency.”
This year’s S3 focused on Artemis, NASA’s mission to send the first woman and person of color to the Moon. Artemis cybersecurity experts and their colleagues from the Gateway and Space Launch System (SLS) Orion programs, and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), joined with their SCaN IT counterparts to prevent and counter whatever threats might present themselves to Artemis mission systems.
“Artemis represents a major endeavor not only for NASA but for all humankind,” said Rob Powell, Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity OCIO for Artemis. “Getting our best and brightest IT minds together makes sense to help keep our mission safe and on track.”
S3 was also highlighted by presentations from senior NASA OCIO leaders and cybersecurity experts from several other government agencies, as well as a visit to Kennedy’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) housing NASA’s SLS rocket and its Orion capsule that’ll carry Artemis astronauts to the Moon.
Banner image: Attendees of the 2022 SCaN Security Summit (S3) listen to a presentation.
Credit: NASA Headquarters