Cybercom's Kevin McLaughlin: Human Capital Key to Partnerships With Industry

U.S. Cyber Command‘s efforts to build greater partnerships with the private sector should include a human capital component to build up skill sets and experience in both the public and private sectors, Cybercom’s second-ranked officer told the Potomac Officers Club Wednesday.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Kevin McLaughlin, Cybercom’s deputy leader since August 2014, described to an audience of business and government executives the Pentagon’s push to establish short-term employee exchanges with industry that would have both agencies and contractors send workers into each other’s enterprises for a few months at a time.

“It’s not just about getting tech from industry and figuring out how to apply it, ” he said at the POC’s annual Cybersecurity Summit in McLean, Virginia.

Contractors should take initiative to present their offerings to the military and Cybercom and can help give ideas for a framework to exchange cyber threat information, according to McLaughlin.

“DoD won’t think on its own about how to bring in industry’s capabilities. It’s partly on industry to help drive that collaboration with us.”

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