CAREER OUTLOOK
THE TOP TECH AT AN AWARD WINNING CYBER DEFENSE FIRM
harles Iheagwara is the director of cyber secu- rity practice at Unatek, an IT security company based in Bethesda, Md., that consult sells corporate intrusion and detection products, services and consulting. Iheagwara directs cyber security services that enable government and private enterprise clients to anticipate, identify, mitigate and strengthen defenses against manifold high-tech electronic threats. Since its founding in 1996, Unatek has special- ized in securing network and internet systems which have grown exponentially due to the convergence of IT and telecommunications at small, medium and large corporations. The company provides cyber security consulting, managed and solutions services. Custom- ers include the Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Marine Corps, several federal departments, the U.S. Army, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and the State of Maryland.
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Iheagwara develop scalable solutions to meet current and future risks and directs systems inte- gration and high-tech security projects for clients. These include an in-depth approach to uncover client needs to create winning partnerships.
Charles Iheagwara, director of cyber security practice, Unatek
Depending on the size and type of networked assets that a customer wants to defend savings from deterring a threat could range from $5,000 to several million dollars. Unatek’s business is split between public and private — 55 percent and 45 percent, respectively.
Iheagwara said common fixes Unatek makes are to
protect an organization’s information and or data from being compromised through unauthorized disclosure. The company does that by building “a perimeter of defensive mechanisms with concentric circles of defined defense mechanisms, zones and assets.”
His proudest professional achievement was contribut- ing as a global lead consultant to the building of Lockheed Martin’s corporate intrusion detection system, also known as an intrusion prevention system (IPS). He also takes pride in assisting KPMG to develop risk management frameworks for major U.S. airports.
The Nigeria native earned his bachelor and master of sci- ence degrees in metallurgical engineering from the National University of Science and Technology, Moscow. He received a second master’s degree, in management and engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another in minerals engineering from the University of Minnesota and a doctorate degree in computer science from the University of Glamorgan, Wales and United Kingdom.
He also completed an advanced environmental engineer- ing management certificate program at George Washington
www.blackengineer.com
University. The licensed professional engineer holds multiple industry certifications, including the CISSP and PMP certifica- tions.
All are a crucial educational and practical foundation to build defenses against the next generation of cyber criminals. Iheagwara said the level of protection will come from de- veloping an IPS to find solutions to problems that have been elusive for cyber warrior.
These include thwarting the creation of Botnets, Web- linked and hacker-controlled computer up to no good, and developing commercial anomaly-based Intrusion preven- tion systems. His advice for those who want to harden cloud computing’s defenses is straight forward: “Use all known best practices.”
In 2012, Unatek received a five-year extension on its contract from the U.S. General Services Administration. IT was let contracts, among others, with the Department of Homeland Security, the Navy, and Prince Georges County in Maryland. Last May, Unatek won the “Homeland Security Company of the Year Award” from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Maryland Tech- nology Development Corp. Previously, Iheagwara was Unatek’s Chief Technol- ogy Officer and oversaw the company’s enterprise technol- ogy roadmap, development programs as well as consulting engagements for corporate clients. He is a member of the Microsoft IT Advisory Council.
USBE&IT I WINTER 2012 73
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