Consortium names award in honor of Lynn McNulty

The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, or (ISC)2, has announced the installment of a new award honoring the late Lynn F. McNulty,  an early advocate of cybersecurity within the government.

The award is part of the U.S. Government Information Security Leadership Awards (GISLA), and will have its first recipient in October 2013.

“The (ISC)2 Lynn F. McNulty Tribute GISLA will recognize a member of the U.S. federal information security community who upholds McNulty’s legacy as a visionary and innovator through outstanding service and commitment,” the consortium wrote in announcing the award.

McNulty, who died on June 4, 2012, was widely regarded as a cybersecurity visionary. Decades ago, he was in the forefront within the federal government, arguing for the need for security. Often he tried to persuade people that stronger security would enable agencies to do more with information technology, said Kim Johnson, who worked with McNulty at the State Department and is now senior cybersecurity strategist at the Homeland Security Department, speaking in an FCW article about McNulty as one of the key thought leaders of the past 25 years.

Read: Lynn McNulty: The grandfather of federal cybersecurity

The GISLA program is nine years old, and awards teams or individuals across five categories. Nominations for the 2013 awards will open in the spring, including the new McNulty Tribute Award. The first recipient of the award will be hand-chosen by the (ISC)2 U.S. Government Advisory Board for Cybersecurity.

“With this award, we ensure that Lynn McNulty will be remembered and honored every year by the government information security community, which is as strong as it is today in large part because of his talent and persistence,” Marc H. Noble, director of government affairs for (ISC)2 and co-chair of the GAB, said in a statement. “This award will encourage a new generation of information security leaders to aspire to Lynn’s achievements and his very high ideals.”

McNulty served as associate director for computer security at National Institute of Standards and Technology, as the first information systems security director at the U.S. State Department and as director of government affairs for RSA. He spent his post-government career with (ISC)2, on the Board of Directors, director of government affairs and founding co-chair of the (ISC)2 U.S. Government Advisory Board for Cybersecurity.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Information Systems Security Association Hall of Fame.

The 2012 GISLA winners are:

• Community Awareness: The Federal Aviation Administration Awareness Training and Evaluations Division Team led by Nancy Hendricks.
• Federal Contractor: The Department of Defense’s Joint Capability Technology Demonstration Adaptive Red Team, led by David Rohret, senior principal systems engineer at CSC.
• Process/Policy: Janet Stevens, CIO at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
• Technology Improvement: The Air Force’s Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate’s Host Based Security System Pilot Integration Team, led by Steven Martin,  information assurance manager.
• Workforce Improvement: The Army Reserve’s Information Operations Command Cyber Warrior Training Development Team, led by Col. John Diaz.