The Cyber Academy is part of the city’s plan to enhance digital literacy and bolster its cybersecurity workforce, Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser told Government Technology in November 2022, shortly after the first wave of participants began training.
The first 21 city employees to complete the program represent 21 of the city’s agencies, and will now be able to use their cybersecurity knowledge to support their team. The program involved specialized, instructor-led, web-based and experiential training to address incident response, network security and cyber threat intelligence.
“Cybersecurity is a great equalizer — gaining skills in the field can launch a career to new heights,” New York City Chief Information Security Officer Kelly Moan said in an announcement. “Just as important, teaching these skills across city government will help keep New York City, its systems, and its people safe.”
Graduates of the program will also be serving as liaisons to the Office of Cyber Command, representing their respective agencies, as outlined in Mayor Eric Adams’ Executive Order 10.
Future cohorts are planned for spring 2023 and fall 2023 to include city employees from agencies that did not have an employee participate in the first cohort.
The executive order required each city agency to assign a liaison that would work with this office to share information, monitor threats, and determine and adopt cybersecurity best practices. The city’s goal is to have a graduate in each city agency and office by the end of 2024.
The Office of Cyber Command tracks and investigates suspicious cyber events. The office works with state and federal partners and private-sector partners to enhance defenses.
In related work, Adams signed Executive Order 10 the same day the Joint Security Operations Center in Brooklyn launched. New York state’s former CIO Angelo “Tony” Riddick previously told Government Technology that this center would be a hub for cyber coordination and intelligence sharing, allowing the state to respond to threats in real time.
