Batten Down The Hatches

Shared Data Among Battlefield Operating Systems

I am no friend to hackers.  Thanks to hackers, we have to password-protect wireless routers, use firewalls, install virus and malware scanners, and other security measures.   There are plenty of good reasons why not all information should be free.  No one but my family and me has any business in my computer.  As far as I’m concerned, the Hackers’ Manifesto is the fast lane to 10 to 20 years in  prison.

An even bigger threat, though, are terrorists and foreign powers using the same types of tools to gain access to government secrets or to bring down communications, electric, or any other system that relies on computer technology and networks.

Mantech International Corporation is one of the world’s largest electronic and cyber security firms.  The people they hire make the average hacker look like a minimum wage entry-level Nerd Herd tech at the Buy More.  They provide “systems engineering, software development, enterprise security architecture, information assurance, intelligence operations support, network and critical infrastructure protection, information technology, communications integration and engineering support.”

Mantech started with a couple of guys in 1968 and is now a  a nearly two billion dollar a year business.  President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Coleman, who came aboard when his company, Integrated  Data Systems, was acquired by Mantech in 2003,  is stepping down in a few months.

Most of their work is for various branches and departments of the U.S. government.  Their clients range from the Central Intelligence Agency to NASA.  And therein lies a weakness.  Reviewing their annual reports, I discovered that, on average, 95% of their customers are government related.  That weakness, however, creates a strength.

In my cover letter to Board Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder George Pedersen, I suggested “an expansion of Mantech into the private sector.  I believe that some of the technologies Mantech has deployed in the defense of our country can be deployed commercially.”  Encryption used by the State Department to U.S. Embassies abroad, for instance, could be used for business communications.

With very little effort Mantech could easily become a major player in information technology security, with the C.O.O. leading the efforts to keep private information private.  We are in an arms race with hackers.  Mantech products could help us turn the tide.