Verizon's Andrew Bonillo Appointed to Strategic Advisory Board of International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) today announced the appointment of Andrew Bonillo, director of cybersecurity and public safety for Verizon, to ICMCP's Strategic Advisory Board. As a board member, Bonillo will play a critical role in shaping the strategic objectives and direction of the organization to help increase the number of students and professionals ? especially women and minorities ? in the field of cybersecurity.

According to the National Security Foundation (NSF), minorities make up a mere 29% of the overall science and engineering workforce in the U.S. In the field of cybersecurity, the challenge is more pronounced. Female practitioners represent only 10% of the cybersecurity workforce despite an overall 48% workforce representation in the U.S. Further, the combined amount of African Americans and Hispanics in the field of cybersecurity amounts to fewer than 10% of the overall cybersecurity workforce.

"Our nation's security, financial stability and greatest innovative challenges will evolve around our ability to develop the underrepresented minority workforce that will help fill the growing need for jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics over the next decade," said Bonillo. "We need to mentor, coach and help our youth take an interest in keeping the Internet ecosystem safe from the ever-growing cybersecurity threat."

Bonillo already mentors underserved youth through a number of Verizon's programs that specifically target middle- and high-school students to stimulate their interest in STEM studies.

"It is humbling and encouraging to have such an accomplished cybersecurity executive and globally recognized thought leader whose passion and commitment for the social cause speaks for itself join the ICMCP team," said Devon Bryan, ICMCP co-founder and president, and vice president of Technical Security Services at ADP.

Bonillo's other leadership roles at Verizon have included overseeing cybersecurity risk management strategies for clients, directing the cyber security strategy for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, and serving as lead principal on Verizon's RISK Team, where his team provided risk management and investigative services for large public data breaches. Prior to joining Verizon in 2010, he was a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service where he coordinated and investigated large-scale network intrusions worldwide. Bonillo is a global security thought leader and a frequent co-author of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. He is also the recipient of the U.S. Department of Justice's United States Attorney General Distinguished Service Award for his role in investigating one of the nation's largest cybercrime cases.

About ICMCP
The International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It began official operations in September 2014 and is organized exclusively for charitable purposes, to provide members with educational/technical scholarships, mentoring opportunities, professional development and networking. For more information, visit http://icmcp.org/.

SOURCE Verizon