Think tank to school Hill staffers on cyber

A new nonpartisan Congressional Cybersecurity Lab at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars seeks to teach Capitol Hill staffers about cybersecurity.

"I think it's scary for people because it's technology, and they may or may not have any understanding about how the technology works," Meg King, who runs the lab, told FCW. "It's that scary factor that we are trying to remove."

The six-week program started its first session earlier this month and already has a waiting list for future sessions. Geared mainly to mid- and senior-level congressional staffers, the lab gives participants the 101 on cybersecurity via seminars, workshops, table-top exercises and access to the 150 resident scholars at the Wilson Center.

The center's director, former California Rep. Jane Harman, initiated the idea after a similar foreign policy program attracted interest from Capitol Hill staffers.

King said that so far, the "response is good." The program connects staffers with technologists and scholars to explain basics such as how networks work, how cyberattacks unfold and how to respond to threats.