Parsons Hosts Cyber Defense Exercise Supporting NSA for Fourth Year in a Row

PASADENA, CA (April 10, 2017) – Parsons—a technology-driven engineering services firm with expertise in physical and cybersecurity, intelligence, infrastructure and environment, and logistics and training—is pleased to announce a 5-day (April 10 – 14) information assurance (IA) exercise at its cyber center in Columbia, MD. The event is designed to help train participants from military institutions in secure network operations. This hands-on, realistic, team-oriented event, formally called the Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX), is run by the NSA’s Information Assurance Capabilities organization as part of its commitment to raise awareness among the military’s future leaders about IA challenges and the inherent vulnerabilities of a net-centric world.

“As cyber attacks become increasingly more complex, these competitions provide the next generation of cyber professionals with vital training. Parsons is proud to lend our expertise to this important mission, and we’re again excited to host NSA’s annual Cyber Defense Exercise,” stated Carey Smith, Parsons Group President.

CDX is the nation’s premier cybersecurity challenge, bringing together more than 100 participants from military institutions. During the exercise, network specialists tasked with securing the U.S. government’s most sensitive communication systems will challenge teams from military institutions in their ability to defend computer networks the participants have designed, built, and configured at their respective locations. The entire CDX is conducted on a virtual private network, providing a safe platform for the exercise while preventing interference with real-world networks. A separate group of specialists will grade each team’s ability to effectively maintain network services while detecting, responding to, and recovering from network security intrusions or compromises. The exercise will also give participants an opportunity to handle a rover as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle. The winning team will be announced on Friday, April 14, at 12 p.m.

In addition to hosting CDX for the fourth year in a row, Parsons is also providing technical support for CDX preparation and execution. Parsons currently serves a broad range of national security customers—including NSA and other key defense and intelligence agencies—in mission-critical technical support, training, and program management. The corporation serves the state and local government and commercial cybersecurity markets, with a focus on protecting critical infrastructure. Parsons is committed to developing innovative solutions to address the evolving cyber threat faced by energy producers, transportation infrastructure entities, telecommunications companies, and government agencies.

CDX is one example of NSA’s broad IA partnership program, which stimulates interest in IA and advocates for improvements to IA education, training, and awareness. For more information about CDX 2017, contact NSA’s Public and Media Affairs Office by email at [email protected].