During a recent House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing, Congressman Tony Gonzales from Texas underscored the role of the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) in cybersecurity education. His remarks were directed towards Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Acting Director Bridget Bean.
Gonzales expressed gratitude to CISA for their work and highlighted the significance of partnerships with universities. “Thank you, Director, for your service to our country, and thank you for all the men and women at CISA, for everything that you all do,” he stated. He also mentioned his conversation with Heather Wilson, UTEP’s President, about enhancing collaboration between CISA and universities.
In response, Acting Director Bean emphasized the importance of partnerships in cybersecurity. “CISA is all about partnerships, understanding that cybersecurity is a team sport,” she said. She outlined three key areas where CISA collaborates with educational institutions: integrating cybersecurity into curriculums to train future cyber defenders, learning from academic research to protect critical infrastructure efficiently, and ensuring communication among academia, international partners, and various levels of government.
Congressman Gonzales noted that such collaborations could be crucial during budget discussions. “As we go through this budget process, that could be a sweet spot,” he remarked.
