Tim McKnight is vice president, Information Security for Northrop Grumman Information Systems’ Cyber Intelligence division, supporting its broader mission areas to ensure that the organization brings integrated cybersecurity solutions to its customers. Mr. McKnight also serves as Northrop Grumman’s chief information security officer (CISO), delivering Northrop Grumman’s internal information security program, and is a member of the Corporate Security Council and CIO Council.
Mr. McKnight received the Information Security Executive of the Year Mid-Atlantic Award and Information Security Magazine Security 7 Award in 2007 for his work at Northrop Grumman and across the industry. In 2011, he was elected chairman of the board of the Internet Security Alliance, a multisector trade association focused on creating effective public policy leading to a sustainable system of cybersecurity. Mr. McKnight is also on the National Board of Information Security Executives, a nonprofit focused on workforce development in the cybersecurity field.
Mr. McKnight joined Northrop Grumman in 2003. His responsibilities have included developing the strategy and vision for Northrop Grumman’s global computer and network information security systems; defining companywide policies for information security; and enhancing the security of Northrop Grumman’s products, services and infrastructures.
Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. McKnight was director of Information Security at BAE Systems North America; program manager in the corporate Information Security department at Cisco Systems; and special agent for infrastructure protection, corporate espionage and foreign counterintelligence with the FBI.
Mr. McKnight’s significant career accomplishments include developing companywide policies for information security, establishing a global security steering group for international business, developing security risk and measurement methodologies, and interfacing with government customers and the Aerospace Industries Association. He was a founder and first president of the High Technology Crime Investigations Association, Delaware Valley chapter. While at the FBI, Mr. McKnight was lead special agent for all infrastructure protection. He was recognized by the FBI director for his accomplishments in cybercrime, and investigated and prosecuted numerous national and international hacker cases, economic espionage cases, and violations of federal criminal copyright and trademark laws.
Mr. McKnight has a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J. He is also a certified information systems security professional and completed training with the National Security Agency in the areas of information security assessment methodology, operating secure networks, and advanced system security and exploitation. In addition, Mr. McKnight was a police training instructor and served on the FBI’s computer analysis response and evidence response teams. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown Univesity.
