INSA continued its interesting 2010 agenda with An Evening with Charlie Allen & Robert “Bear” Bryant on Thursday, March 4. Bryant, who was recently confirmed as the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX), has a long and distinguished law enforcement and counterintelligence career, culminating as Deputy Director of the FBI. Relevant to his new position, Bryant was instrumental in the investigation and conviction of spies, such as Aldrich Ames. With his unique and extensive background and experience, Bryant has brought renewed passion to this position.

Bryant highlighted the rising importance of CI, as it has been emphasized by the DNI as one of three future crucial areas for the IC. He acknowledged that one of his foremost challenges at NCIX will be to unite the numerous good CI efforts currently in existence. In fact, Bryant confided that he took the job of NCIX under the condition that he would have access to all information, stating that you cannot identity problems unless you know of all issues.

More specific than counterintelligence on the whole, Bryant indicated that cyber counterintelligence is especially important in today’s environment. Bryant expressed a view shared by many that we are constantly under attack and remain vulnerable. To address the issue, Bryant laid out several priorities: 1) find the best people to be part of the mission; 2) develop a strategy; 3) have insider perspective, such as someone working the leadership of companies. Working with the business community is vital to success, according to Bryant. The government also needs to establish a good defense and consequences for violation.

After dinner, the floor was opened up for questions, all of which Bryant responded to openly. Charlie Allen opened with a question about the need for accountability, which Bryant agreed was important, saying that a metric needs to be instituted and money needs to be spent effectively. In fact, another of Bryant’s conditions when coming on as NCIX was that he would have approval of the counterintelligence budget. When an INSA member pointed out that the cyber infrastructure looked bleak, Bryant agreed, but also provided some hope, noting that many, including NSA Director General Keith Alexander, have noted that it’s a priority. He agreed with the INSA white paper that a public/private partnership on cyber would be the best solution in order to streamline responses to crises. On a final note, he acknowledged that success will be driven by research and education. Counterintelligence is a lasting issue and the field will continue to be of importance for years to come, even as counterterrorism fades from the limelight. It is crucial to have a solid system in place.