WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The International
Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) today
announced the appointment of Andrew
Bonillo, director of cybersecurity and public safety for
Verizon, to ICMCP's Strategic Advisory Board. As a board member,
Bonillo will play a critical role in shaping the strategic
objectives and direction of the organization to help increase the
number of students and professionals – especially women and
minorities – in the field of cybersecurity.
According to the National Security Foundation (NSF), minorities
make up a mere 29% of the overall science and engineering workforce
in the U.S. In the field of cybersecurity, the challenge is more
pronounced. Female practitioners represent only 10% of the
cybersecurity workforce despite an overall 48% workforce
representation in the U.S. Further, the combined amount of African
Americans and Hispanics in the field of cybersecurity amounts to
fewer than 10% of the overall cybersecurity workforce.
"Our nation's security, financial stability and greatest
innovative challenges will evolve around our ability to develop the
underrepresented minority workforce that will help fill the growing
need for jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
over the next decade," said Bonillo. "We need to mentor, coach and
help our youth take an interest in keeping the Internet ecosystem
safe from the ever-growing cybersecurity threat."
Bonillo already mentors underserved youth through a number of
Verizon's programs that specifically target middle- and high-school
students to stimulate their interest in STEM studies.
"It is humbling and encouraging to have such an accomplished
cybersecurity executive and globally recognized thought leader
whose passion and commitment for the social cause speaks for itself
join the ICMCP team," said Devon
Bryan, ICMCP co-founder and president, and vice president of
Technical Security Services at ADP.
Bonillo's other leadership roles at Verizon have included
overseeing cybersecurity risk management strategies for clients,
directing the cyber security strategy for Verizon Enterprise
Solutions, and serving as lead principal on Verizon's RISK Team,
where his team provided risk management and investigative services
for large public data breaches. Prior to joining Verizon in 2010,
he was a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service where he
coordinated and investigated large-scale network intrusions
worldwide. Bonillo is a global security thought leader and a
frequent co-author of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations
Report. He is also the recipient of the U.S. Department of
Justice's United States Attorney
General Distinguished Service Award for his role in investigating
one of the nation's largest cybercrime cases.
About ICMCP
The International Consortium of Minority
Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
organization. It began official operations in September 2014 and is
organized exclusively for charitable purposes, to provide members
with educational/technical scholarships, mentoring opportunities,
professional development and networking. For more information,
visit http://icmcp.org/.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verizons-andrew-bonillo-appointed-to-strategic-advisory-board-of-international-consortium-of-minority-cybersecurity-professionals-300104142.html
SOURCE Verizon