Preparing for future cybersecurity threats
Recently reported threats about a Chinese state-sponsored cyber actor known as Volt Typhoon highlight malicious activity that the San Antonio Express-news emphasized “poses a major threat to Joint Base San Antonio — and potentially to the region’s water and electricity customers.”
Residents of Bexar County and the city of San Antonio are rightfully concerned because our public utilities — San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy — provide services to both the Joint Base and to our neighborhoods.
Fortunately, organizations in our community, such as the Alamo Chapter of Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) International, are involved in helping find solutions to the problem.
The greater San Antonio region is home to more than 16,500 cybersecurity professionals, the largest group in the U.S. outside of the Washington, D.C., region. The Alamo AFCEA chapter helps to unite these professionals to support principles stated in the U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy and to build a strong foundation for addressing future cybersecurity challenges.
For example, beginning with students as young as elementary school age, the Alamo AFCEA chapter partners with the Cyber Texas Foundation to support early cybersecurity education and the 345 Cyber Patriot teams in the region. For college students, we offer cybersecurity education scholarships and mentoring support to students enrolled in cyber-related programs in the greater San Antonio area at institutions like the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M Universitysan Antonio. In total, the Alamo AFCEA chapter donates more than $250,000 annually to cybersecurity and STEM education programs in the San Antonio region.
Individual Alamo AFCEA chapter members participate in forums organized by the UTSA National Security Collaboration Center to exchange ideas with federal agencies and academics. Our corporate members participate in the Cybersecurity Council
of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, working to support teacher development, workforce development and business growth across the region.
Many of our members also work for and with the local national security organizations, like 16th Air Force, NSA Texas, Army North and the FBI. These dedicated Alamo AFCEA chapter members work to develop capabilities and operational techniques for defending critical infrastructure and other elements of U.S. national security.
Malicious actors like Volt Typhoon are a real international problem, and they are a legitimate national security concern that must be addressed. The Alamo AFCEA chapter invites the San Antonio community to learn more about our organization and what our members do every day to support our collective national defense.
Alamo ACE, an annual event set for Nov. 13-16 at the La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, will host senior national security and cybersecurity leaders, as well as hundreds of cyber companies looking to do business in San Antonio. The program offers engaging discussions, as well as networking, training and professional development opportunities.
We welcome you to spend time with us to see what San Antonio has to offer the nation and the world in addressing the toughest cybersecurity challenges.