Maryland

ANNAPOLIS Maryland home to the National Security Agency, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, research institutions and an ever-growing number of network security businesses has grown into a cybersecurity powerhouse.

And with large-scale and high-profile attacks on organizations like Target and Neiman Marcus, which have thrust security into the spotlight, the industry continues to thrive.

Cybersecurity experts who aim to thwart hackers armed with increasingly potent programs and techniques seem to work from a point of disadvantage, almost by definition.

We have to be right 100 percent of the time, said Jim Close, federal account manager for Sourcefire, a Columbia-based network security company that was acquired by Cisco in October. [Hackers] only have to be right once.

Chad Carroll, vice president of information operations at Chiron Technology Services in Columbia, added that most data breaches are the result of user error.

Not everybody is technically savvy, and not everybody is able to maneuver around a computer, Carroll said. They rely on others to be security-savvy for them.

Remote exploits, in which a hacker breaks through a gap in network security from outside the network, are few and far between, he added.

He also said most employees who arent on a network security team dont consider security a top priority, and mere curiosity can lead an employee to open a suspicious email attachment or click a link to a malicious site.

Too many times, the folks that defend the network think like a defender, Carroll said. And you cant. You have to think like an attacker.

But when even savvy defenders are caught off-guard, cyber attacks can deal significant damage. Greg Smith, cyber technical adviser for the Alabama-based Camber Corp., said in 2013, 122 successful cyber attacks were launched against businesses each week.

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Maryland