Focusing on Security Engineering at MITRE's Charlottesville Site
Kevin Murray
October 2010
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Kevin Murray |
Protecting critical information, technology, and resources is not just a check list item for MITRE's Kevin Murray. As a security engineering specialist in MITRE's Joint and Service Intelligence Department, he works at the corporation's Charlottesville, Va. site and supports several Army and Department of Defense customers in their efforts to integrate security requirements into the operating life cycle of their systems.
Murray first came to MITRE in 2008 from a private contractor in the Charlottesville area. "Since coming here, I feel like I've had many opportunities to expand my horizons as a systems engineer. I've also refocused my career on security engineering, where my core talents lie, and where many of our customers need assistance."
Part of the Development Process
Much of Murray's project work is based on information systems security engineering (ISSE). "ISSE is the process of integrating security into the systems development life cycle to ensure information assurance needs are satisfied for the life of a system," he explains. "Successful ISSE requires a thorough understanding of the information system and its underlying components, as well as the information that's processed and its unique protection requirements."
One component of ISSE is the certification and accreditation (C&A) processes—an area of ISSE that Murray knows well. "Today I find myself assisting a number of different Army customers with security engineering and ushering them through C&A," he says. "I support many different systems and explore numerous technologies, from tactical aerial Wi-Mesh enclaves, to analytical cloud prototypes, to multi-level cross domain repositories. Each system presents distinctive challenges, but the common thread among all of them is a sense of urgency."
MITRE's Charlottesville, Virginia, site
MITRE officially opened a new site in Charlottesville, Va. in April 2010, but support to customers and sponsors in the area began several years earlier. The site, which is approximately 100 miles from MITRE's McLean, Va., headquarters, provides support to several Army and Department of Defense customers. |
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In addition, Murray often takes on the role of trusted adviser. "I regularly provide guidance to system developers on requirements interpretation and implementation. I also coordinate efforts with all security team members, including implementers, system owners, and certifying officials, to facilitate expectation management. I travel to the Washington, D.C., area for meetings a few times a month—Charlottesville is only a quick hop to the Beltway. I am also frequently the project source for information assurance policy, guidance, manuals, and instructions.
It's clear that Murray's efforts dovetail with MITRE's corporate mission to apply systems engineering and advanced technology to address issues of critical national importance. "Our enemies are not following a rigorous systems engineering process," he says. "They know that winning involves rapidly fielding new capabilities, and their sense of acceptable risk is far different from ours. Combating their quick deployment of new capabilities requires a high degree of agility in our own development and fielding of capabilities, while continuing to operate in the realm of acceptable risk. My goal is to help my sponsors engineer solutions that fall within that realm, and to help paint the appropriate picture for the officials who must make the fielding decisions."
His enthusiasm for his work is readily apparent. "I think MITRE is a fantastic place to work," he says. "The variety of projects I get to support keeps my work interesting. And the breadth and depth of talent in this organization provides me the ability to approach any sponsor issue with a degree of confidence that I've never had before."
Mountain Envy
Having grown up in Houston and spent the first part of his career in southern Maryland, Murray had always wanted to try living in the mountains. Charlottesville and the nearby Blue Ridge mountain range fit the bill. "As a mountain biker, I have miles and miles of single-track and gravel roads that lead me to Skyline Drive and beyond," he says.
However, mountain biking is not the only thing Murray enjoys about the area. "My family and I first moved here in 2006 and have found Charlottesville to be an amazing town with innumerable cultural and recreational opportunities. We are baseball fanatics, so we feel fortunate that one of the best college baseball teams in the country plays 10 minutes from our house."
"It was incredibly easy to adopt Charlottesville as home," he says, "and the growth of the region assures me that I'll be able to continue to do so for years to come."
—by Kay M. Upham
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