CROWS Officials, Industry Leaders Discuss Critical Cybersecurity Topics

The Air Force’s Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems recently hosted a virtual event with industry experts to discuss critical topics in the area of cybersecurity.

The event saw participation from companies such as Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

During the virtual meeting, CROWS officials and industry leaders discussed the Systems Security Engineering Cyber Guidebook, which an official said will set the foundation for distributing standard contracting language across the acquisition workforce, AF .mil reported.

Lt. Col. Zach Lehmann, materiel leader of CROWS, noted that the guidebook will pave the way for the diligence required in writing contract language to ensure that U.S. weapon systems are cyber-secure.

Using a holistic approach, the guidebook shares different aspects of system security engineering, such as cybersecurity, trusted systems and network, information protection and cyber resiliency.

According to Katie Whatmore, the systems security engineering lead of CROWS, the guidebook also outlines a workflow process to better integrate program protection and systems security engineering activities into the traditional systems engineering process.

Program offices within the Air Force and the Space Force will use the guidebook to ensure the use of appropriate cybersecurity and cyber resiliency requirements throughout their programs’ lifecycle, Whatmore noted.

The meeting also featured a roundtable focused on data sharing, networking and knowledge management, among others. Lehmann said that the roundtable provided a “fresh approach to breaking down the over-application of protections so the government can learn from industry.”

Meanwhile, CROWS Director Joe Bradley stressed the importance of the office’s partnership with the defense innovation base to make good decisions and secure systems used by warfighters.