Mayor Ed Garza

Garza discusses cybersecurity at National Security Agency

(Dec. 22, 2003)--San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza addressed the National Security Agency's (NSA) Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education on Oct. 28 in Baltimore, Md. Garza was addressing the leaders of 50 universities designated as Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the NSA.

UTSA's Center for Information Assurance and Security (CIAS) was the first such designated center in Texas and remains one of just 50 in the country.

During his speech, Garza noted the importance of preparing for cyber attacks through cooperative exercises, citing UTSA's three-year Dark Screen cyber security exercise, as a leader in this effort. The Dark Screen exercise, held between 2001 and 2003, had three main objectives.

• To test the response capabilities of the City of San Antonio/Bexar County and surrounding region to a cyber-terrorist attack.
• To recommend/develop methods for all sectors (industry, law enforcement, government, and academia) to cooperatively protect the national critical infrastructures.
• To serve as a model for other cities in preparing for a cyber-terrorist or similar event.

The success of the exercise, Garza noted, was the result of "integrating academic, military, industry and various levels of government efforts, resulting in a dynamic organization dedicated to infrastructure assurance, research and education."

In the spirit of continued collaboration for cyber safety, Garza also announced the formation of the Southwest Enterprise for Regional Preparedness, to be headed by Randy Goldsmith of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative. The organization is expected to draw on San Antonio's security strengths, which are located in public and private industry as well as in military agencies.

--Lynn Gosnell