US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information technology and cybersecurity leadership – including more than 30 senior federal personnel from government and military – are touring six tech companies located in San Diego on June 24 – 25, 2019.

With support from San Diego’s Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) and San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the tech tours allow participants to witness how San Diego and the surrounding region continues to evolve as a technology and cyber hub within the United States.

While many San Diego companies were considered for this visit, CCOE and EDC tapped six companies to highlight a cross section of new technologies in the region to include Qualcomm, Redhorse, Shield AI, Teradata, Analytics Ventures and Walmart Labs. The collective group will demonstrate everything from artificial intelligence and machine learning to 5G, data analytics and cybersecurity.

Dr. John Zangardi, the DHS Chief Information Officer (CIO), whose office is jointly leading this outreach trip with the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, says that he sees “industry engagement as vital to ensuring the DHS mission takes full advantage of the best industry has to offer.  There are exciting advancements in 5G, IOT, ML/AI and cyber that we want to learn more about.  And I want to ensure that industry understands the DHS mission challenges.”

“The Science and Technology Directorate seeks opportunities to make connections, share ideas, and discuss best practices and new capabilities with cybersecurity professionals from across government, industry, academia and the international community,” notes William N. Bryan, DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “Through this series of tours, we hope to learn from companies that are advancing their capabilities in cybersecurity to better inform our efforts to build a secure and resilient cyber backbone for the nation and address the complex threats of our future.”

Rear Adm. (ret) Ken Slaght, CCOE chair and president, emphasized that visits like this provide new perspective on cybersecurity and cyber readiness.

“We’re excited that San Diego is being recognized by national IT leaders,” said Slaght. “For Dr. Zangardi, Mr. Bryan, and other high-ranking federal IT leadership to take an interest in what San Diego continues to do to support innovation and technology development means a great deal. San Diego plays a significant role in cyber preparedness for the nation and will continue strengthening these efforts well into the future.”

The DHS CIO and S&T tour highlights the importance of collaboration between the public, private, academic, government and military sectors to foster greater cybersecurity, and is a component of CCOE and the City of San Diego’sSecure San Diego initiative, which fosters region-wide efforts to create a more secure cyber environment and position San Diego as a global hub of cybersecurity innovation.

SOURCE Cyber Center of Excellence