Cyber security leader joins ISU Informatics Research Institute; Garcia is former homeland security official

Gregory T. Garcia, a former assistant secretary for cyber security and communications for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has joined the distinguished faculty of Idaho State University’s Informatics Research Institute (IRI) as an affiliate research professor of information assurance policy and strategy.

Garcia will be working closely within the institute’s internationally-recognized programs in information assurance and computer security and bring new perspectives from broad experience in industry and government policy.

He is president of Garcia Strategies, LLC, a strategic business and government affairs advisory services firm founded in January 2009 and which represents large and small companies contributing to the national cyber security mission.  He serves on the advisory boards of several innovative security technology companies, including San Jose, Calif. – based Finjan; Rockville, Md. – based Triumfant, and Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based Wurldtech(cq).

Garcia also serves as a managing director of Pierce Capital Partners, a privately held investment banking firm providing international services in acquisitions, joint ventures, and project financing throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Garcia served as the nation’s first presidentially – appointed assistant secretary for cyber security and communications (CS&C) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), from 2006 to 2008.  He led the strategic direction of CS&C, overseeing the national cyber security division, the office of emergency communications, and the national communications system.

Prior to joining DHS, Garcia served as vice president for information security programs and policy with the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) where, among other accomplishments, he worked with the Department of Homeland Security to co-found the National Cyber Security Partnership.

Before joining ITAA in 2003, Garcia served on the staff of the House Science Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was responsible for industry outreach and information technology and cyber security policy.

Prior to his service on Capitol Hill, Garcia contributed to national policy development through several private sector organizations. He was the director of 3Com Corporation’s government relations office in Washington, D.C., where he established and managed all aspects of the company’s strategic public policy formulation and advocacy. His first career position was as a consultant with Newmyer Associates, Inc., a public policy consulting firm, where he advised Fortune 500 clients on international trade policy.