the attention of the nation and the Obama administration looks to appoint the much heralded Cyber Czar, Telcordia Technologies, a leading architect of telecommunications software and services and a long standing contributor to advanced national communications systems, is amplifying its focus on critical issues surrounding the vulnerability and survivability of the nation's networks.

The New Jersey based company, borne from the AT&T divesture in 1984, has named James F.X. Payne, a recognized leader in the high technology Federal market, as Senior Vice President/General Manager, National Security and Cyber Infrastructure, Advanced Technology Solutions, to lead the charge. Telcordia, a chief architect of the telecommunications system in the U.S., has pioneered many of the telecommunications services used today. With more than 1800 patents issued, the company is renowned for developing groundbreaking communications technologies that have served as the connectivity tissue for most US and foreign carrier networks.

National security issues and their impacts continue to intensify. The Department of Homeland Security reports the number of cyber attacks on government and private networks multiplied nearly 20-fold over the last four years. As fragmented systems thwart the secure exchange of information across government entities and companies, information blockage remains a national concern.

"More dollars are being devoted to cyber infrastructure and security every year yet our vulnerability continues to worsen. This problem must be systematically mitigated through a coordinated architectural design. That is a function Telcordia, since its roots as part of the Bell System, has excelled at for decades." Payne said.

"Telcordia understands the complexity of communication networks and recognizes that, left unaddressed, the threats to our nation and our citizens will continue to grow exponentially," said Adam Drobot, CTO and President, Advanced Technology Solutions, Telcordia. "As such, Jim will be dedicated to working with key government officials and organizations on creating a roadmap for a common, interactive architecture through which all government entities can seamlessly share and access mission critical information."

Following the divestiture of the Bell Telephone System, there was no longer one company responsible for architecturing, engineering and ensuring the integrity of the nation's communications network. At the same time, networks became markedly more complex with the onset of new competition, technologies and applications, further increasing the vulnerability and security risks of the network infrastructure. Previous administrations have attempted to reduce the vulnerabilities in the system, defend against the full spectrum of threats, and develop next-generation technologies to maintain a competitive edge but those efforts have fallen short.

"The new leadership in Washington has made it quite clear that real progress must be made in keeping America's communications network safe, secure and adept at sharing critical data across agencies, divisions and department," Payne said.

A leader in federal communication issues for the past decade, Payne has served on numerous Presidential advisory committees, including serving as chair of the operating committees of President Bush's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and serving as a strategic industry member on the NTIA Bush Task Force "Interdependency between Telecommunications and Power." He has received two prestigious Fed 100 awards, and testified numerous times before Congress. Prior to joining Telcordia, Payne served as President, Federal Telecoms, Bechtel National, Inc. and was former Senior Vice President and General Manager of Qwest Communications' federal government market.

About Telcordia

Telcordia, a global leader in the development of fixed, mobile and broadband communications software and services, enables Communications Service Providers (CSPs), enterprises, suppliers and government entities to successfully deploy innovative and advanced services that help our clients realize operational efficiencies, drive revenue, and maintain a competitive edge in the new era of services-dominated communications. Telcordia has globally trusted expertise in software and services to meet the needs of customers and partners, including, consulting, next-generation OSS, network and application interconnection, service delivery and charging solutions, industry research and new technology development. Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, N.J., with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America.

Information Source:    Telcordia