AFCEA Embraces the Intelligence Community

AFCEA International is about more than cybersecurity and communications. AFCEA also has leading-edge intelligence initiatives led by the Intelligence Committee and the Emerging Professionals in the Intelligence Community (EPIC) Committee. Their efforts are augmented by AFCEA’s Cyber and Homeland Security Committees. AFCEA committees are comprised of volunteer public- and private-sector professionals who are experts in their field and offer their time to foster a constructive and forward-looking dialogue to bridge the gap between government and industry.

AFCEA’s Professional Development Center (PDC) extends the association’s intelligence outreach by providing educational opportunities through its preferred providers, on-demand online courses, instructor-led classes and continuing education offerings at events and webinars.

Preferred Providers offer training directly relevant to the intelligence community. American Public University System has certificate and degree programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels in intelligence studies, homeland security and security management, including doctorate degrees in Global Security and Strategic Intelligence. AFCEA members may be eligible for discounted tuition. The SANS Institute provides intermediate and advanced cybersecurity training, including Applied Data Science and Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Professionals, Active Defense, Offensive Countermeasures and Cyber Deception, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Open-Source Intelligence Gathering and Analysis,  IoT Penetration Testing, Enterprise-Class Incident Response and Threat Hunting.

AFCEA’s online on-demand courses through FedLearn cover subjects in intelligence and artificial intelligence, many of which align with the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Certified Defense All-Source Analyst Certification Body of Knowledge. AFCEA members are eligible for member discounts for many of these courses. Many other subjects (communication, leadership and management, etc.) are available on demand as well. For information and registration visit On-Demand Courses  on the association’s Education page.

The “U.S. Intelligence: An Introduction” instructor-led class can be arranged in a traditional on-site format at an organization’s facility or in a virtual environment for individuals. This course is helpful for anyone beginning in the intelligence community or contractors and organizations that work with the intelligence community. Among the topics covered during the two-day course are: structure and missions of the intelligence community, covert action and national security threats in the 21st century. Mark M. Lowenthal, former assistant director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production for the CIA, and former vice chairman for Evaluation on the National Intelligence Council, shares his expertise and leads the discussion to provide students with a better context in which to think about the issues. Additional information can be found at www.afcea.org/site/Education.

AFCEA’s intelligence events, including  the Intelligence and National Security Summit, co-hosted with INSA, and AFCEA’s Spring Intelligence Symposium, provide a way for intelligence community members to learn while networking. Some event sessions and webinars are also available on demand and several of those sessions have been approved for cybersecurity certification maintenance.

Please reach out to pdc@afcea.org or visit www.afcea.org/site/Intelligence to learn more.