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The National Cyber Security Alliance is pleased to present our first ever edition of the NCSA Board Member Spotlight.
NCSA Board member companies are leaders in cybersecurity education and awareness and are an integral part of making the organization a successful public-private partnership.
Get to know Jon Check, Senior Director of Cyber Protection Solutions at Raytheon, in this Board Member Spotlight.
Do you currently serve on an NCSA Board Committee?
Yes, I have the great privilege of serving on the NCSA Finance Committee.
Can you tell us about your role as Chair of the NCSA Board of Directors?
My role is to enable our diverse board of companies and cyber professionals to meet our mission by educating and empowering our society. I work to accomplish that by ensuring everyone’s voice is heard, challenging ourselves to continuously stretch our goals and trying to have some fun along the way. We work in a serious business solving tough problems, so I am a big proponent of people bringing their whole selves to work, having compassion, and being authentic. Awareness of the value that approach can bring to cyber professionals across the board is a passion of mine.
What influenced you to join the NCSA Board of Directors?
I wanted to do my small part to help drive cyber security awareness. Like everyone else, I have had friends and family members fall victim to cyber criminals and I wanted to do my part to help raise awareness. There is much all of us can do to improve cyber protection at a business, government, and personal level.
How long have you served on the Board of Directors?
I have been on the Board of NCSA for almost 3 years. It has been very rewarding and provided me the opportunity to serve in multiple roles on the team.
What do you hope to accomplish by serving on the Board of Directors?
My hope is to leave things better than they are today – a safer, more protected world for all. By working together, we can impact change in ways big and small. There’s no shortage of opportunity.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the cybersecurity field?
I wanted to be part of the cyber defense community to help work toward creating a place where our family, friends and way of life are relatively free from cyber and privacy concerns.
What excites you about the field?
The spirit of collaboration and the NCSA embodies that spirit. No one can do it alone in the Cyber defense world. It takes all of us working together.
What does your work at Raytheon Technologies mean to you?
I get to wake up every day and tackle our customers’ hardest challenges working on a problem that affects every walk of life. It’s an honor to help make the world a safer place in some small way.
How does Raytheon Technologies’ cybersecurity interests align with the NCSA mission to educate and empower our global digital society?
In efforts to impact the future cybersecurity workspace, Raytheon Intelligence & Space has aligned its corporate social responsibility platforms with their business strategy to make a lasting impact in the community. This year, we have made several grants towards the advancement of STEM education.
In August, Raytheon Technologies gave a grant to the newly formed Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) to help prepare students for cybersecurity careers in government and industry.
Additionally, Raytheon Intelligence & Space has awarded a research grant to University of Texas – San Antonio College of Business Cyber Center for Security and Analytics (UTSA) for a research project studying the use of artificial intelligence to detect malicious attacks. Our partnership with UTSA demonstrates our commitment to leading innovation and to continued development of expertise for our nation’s cyber workforce.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space is also an annual sponsor of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC). NCCDC stages a simulated cyberattack against a fictional business network. Teams must keep the day-to-day operations of the organization going, performing everyday tasks, while fending off constant attacks during the nation’s largest competition of its kind. The event gives cybersecurity students from across the country a chance to test their skills, as well as participate in a career fair and have the opportunity to win a scholarship to advance cybersecurity education. NCCDC’s systematic, professional approach to this competition, and the use of real-world business scenarios, helps attract the talent that will fill the 3.5 million cyber job vacancies we will see by 2021. We at Raytheon Intelligence & Space are proud to support such an initiative.
That shared mission of educating and empowering the next generation is a wonderful aspect of both NCSA and Raytheon Technologies.
When you are not working, what might you be doing? What are your hobbies/interests?
I love the outdoors. When I’m not working I am usually hiking, fishing and camping with my family and our Bernese mountain dog.
