Parsons Holds NSA Cybersecurity Exercise in Maryland; Carey Smith Comments

Parsons has begun to host a five-day cybersecurity event at its Columbia, Maryland-based facility in an effort to train representatives from military organizations on information assurance and network security.

The National Security Agency’s information assurance capabilities group oversees the Cyber Defense Exercise that kicked off Monday in Maryland, Parsons said Monday.

“As cyber attacks become increasingly more complex, these competitions provide the next generation of cyber professionals with vital training,” said Carey Smith, Parsons federal group president and an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2017.

At least 100 participants are expected to take part in the CDX event that seeks to challenge the capability of teams of military representatives to protect computer networks from security breaches.

Parsons and NSA will announce the winning team on April 14 and allow attendees to operate an unmanned aerial system and a rover at the event.

The company has been hosting the exercise for four consecutive years and has provided technical support to NSA to carry out the event.