Communications of the ACM
The Cybersecurity Boom
Jeffrey MacMillan For Washington Post
When cybersecurity firm Triumfant was founded in late 2002, it developed software meant to assist help desks in managing information technology problems. The company soon found a more valuable use for its software: detecting malicious acts on networks of computers and making automatic fixes.
Earlier this year, the small Rockville-based firm, which has fewer than 20 employees, announced it is partnering with Fairfax-based SRA International, a major government contractor, to beef up SRA's cybersecurity product.
The company--which today works exclusively in the cybersecurity field--is just one of the beneficiaries of what analysts say is a growing boom in cybersecurity work. From small, recently established firms all the way up to the well-known defense contracting giants, local companies are building up their cyber credentials.
There's plenty of reason for the surge. The increasing number and intensity of cyberattacks has attracted the attention of the Obama administration and Congress, which have begun steering new dollars to the problem. And much of that new spending is focused on the Washington region, as the federal government consolidates many of its cybersecurity-focused agencies in the area.
With the National Security Agency, the soon-to-be-relocated Defense Information Systems Agency and the newly founded U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade; the Department of Homeland Security set to move to Anacostia; and the Pentagon just across the river, a region known for information technology is fast becoming a cybersecurity capital.
The Washington Post
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