TABLEOFCONTENTS

TABLEOFCONTENTS
........1
INTRODUCTION
........2
THECHALLENGE
......34
PROBLEMS
...3
OPPORTUNITIES
.....34
TARGETPOPULATIONS
.......4
THEPLAN
.......56
GOALS
.......5
OBJECTIVES
........5
STRATEGIES&TACTICS
......56
THEEXECUTION
......7
WORKSCHEDULE
.....7
EVALUATION&MEASUREMENT
.......7
CONTACTINFORMATION..8

INTRODUCTION

Formedin2014,theCenterforAssuranceResearch&
Engineering(CARE)offersauniqueapproachtocybersecurity
research.Themissionofthecenteristoprovideinnovative
cybersecuritysolutionsincludingmeaningfulpolicies,practical
solutions,andcuttingedgeresearch.Thisapproachisdefinedby
sixkeycharacteristics:

Breakthroughcybersecurityresearch
Aresearchtopracticeorientation
Amultidisciplinaryapproach

Broadareasofexpertise
Engaginginpowerfulpartnerships
Publishedresearch

AspartofGeorgeMasonUniversity,thecenterbenefitsfrom
colocationwiththefirstentirelyinclassroomcrossdisciplinary
undergraduatecybersecuritydegree.Asacomponentofthe
VolgenauSchoolofEngineering,thecybersecurityprogram
th
achievedarankingof7
nationallybythePonemonInstitutein
2014.

Inadditiontooncampuspartnerships,CAREengageswitha
numberofpublicandprivatesectorentitiestofacilitatefunded
research.ThesepartnersincludetheU.S.Departmentof
Defense,U.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecurity,Google,IBM,
andmore.

Thecenteriscurrentlyworkingoncreatinguserhabitsbased
cellphoneauthentication,identifyingcorecompetenciesfor
chiefinformationofficers(CIOs),andaddressingcybersecurity
threatsintheelectricpowerindustry.CAREexpectstoalso
beginworkontwotothreenewprojectswithinthenextyear.

Thefollowingpublicrelationsplanseekstosupporttheseefforts
throughbuildinguponexistingrelationshipswithindustry
leadersandfaculty.Whilethisplanfocusesonshortterm
projects,itisdesignedtoreinforcethelongertermgrowthgoals
ofthecenter.Assuch,thesubsequentplanhighlightshighlevel
industryleaderengagementandincreasedfacultyawarenessof
CAREeventsascurrentpublicrelationspriorities.
2

THECHALLENGE
Priortooutliningthepublicrelationsplanforthespring2016term,itisnecessarytoestablishafirm
understandingofthechallenges,opportunities,andtargetpublicsforCARE.Thisinformationcanbefound
below:

PROBLEMS
NatureofWork:

Natureofcybersecurityworkmeansthatsomeinformationandcontactsmustbekeptfromthepublic.
Complexityofcybersecuritysolutionsmeansnontechnicalindividualsmaynotfullyunderstandthe
researchconductedbyCARE.
CAREsinterdisciplinaryapproachtocybersecuritymakesithardertoreachalltargetaudiences.

LackofIdentity:

CAREdoesnothaveadistinctlogoorotheridentifyingvisualelements.
CAREdoesnothaveitsownsocialmediapagesoraccounts.
CAREscapacitytobuildawarenessislimitedbyhumanandmonetaryresources.
CAREisarelativelynewinitiativestartedin2014.

NeedforAdditionalSupport:

Significantcompetitionfromotherorganizationsandcompaniesincybersecurityresearchdueto
importanceofissue.
CAREresearchrequiressustainedfinancialsupport,whichrequirescontinuedjustification.
Highlevelindustryexecutiveswhoarekeytopartnershipsandfundingareoftenhardtoreach.
Currentpartnershipsrevolvelargelyaroundgovernmentorganizations,butprivatesectorbusiness
providemoreopportunitiesforfundingandestablishingtherelationshipsneededforasuccessful
advisoryboard.

OPPORTUNITIES
CybersecurityisBooming:

Recentcybersecurityissues,suchastheU.S.OfficeofPersonnelManagement(OPM)databreach,have
increasedpublicawarenessoftheneedforcybersecurityresearch.
IssuesliketheTargetcustomerdatabreachmakecybersecurityarelevantissuefortheprivatesectoras
wellasthepublicsector.
PresidentBarackObamarecentlyunveiledaCyberSecurityNationalActionPlanheadedbytheU.S.
DepartmentofHomelandSecuritythatunderscoresthenationalsecurityimportanceofcybersecurity
throughinvestingmorethan$19billioninfederalcybersecurityimprovements.

BuildingonaStrongFoundation:

CAREexcellentexistingpartnershipsthatserveasastrongfoundation,includingtheU.S.Department
ofHomelandSecurity,theNationalScienceFoundation,IBM,andtheKoreaAgencyforDefense.
CAREhasshownacapacityforgrowthwith23newprojectsand$1millioninadditionalfundingeach
yearforfouryears.
CAREsinterdisciplinaryapproachofferssolutionsforeveryonefromtechnicalworkerstohighlevel
industryexecutivestohighrankinggovernmentofficials.
Currentwebsiteisanexistingplatformthatcanbeexpandedtoincludemoremultimediacontent.

Proximity:

CAREhasaccesstotopresearchersandfacultythroughGeorgeMasonUniversitysVolgenauSchool
ofEngineeringandotherdepartmentstosupportthecentersinterdisciplinaryapproach.
CAREslocationinNorthernVirginiameansaccesstokeygovernmentorganizationsandprivatesector
industrieswithinterestsinsupportingcybersecurityresearch.

TARGETPOPULATIONS
External:

Currentpartnerorganizations,agencies,andcompanies
Regional/nationalhightechindustryexecutivesincompanieswithinterestincybersecurity
Establishedcompanieswithexpandingcybersecurityactivities
Possibletargetcompaniesinclude:

Boeing
GeneralDynamics
L3Communications
BAESystems
AirbusGroup(formerlyEADS)
Finmeccanica
BoozAllenHamilton
Thales

Vencore
LockheedMartin
Vencore
NorthropGrumman
TASK
Guidepoint
Raytheon
Leidos

Media(localprintandonlinenewssourcesownedorsharedmediaofpartnercompanies)

Internal:

GeorgeMasonUniversityfacultywithindustryconnections/uniqueindustryinsight
Relevantschoolsandacademicdepartments
VolgenauSchoolofEngineering(VSE)
SchoolofPolicy,Government,andInternationalAffairs(SPGIA)
SchoolofBusiness
DepartmentofCommunication(canprovidebestpracticesfromInsightCommittee)
Studentmediaoutlets(GeorgeMasonNews,FourthEstate,@GeorgeMasonU)
GeorgeMasonUniversitymidandhighleveladministration
4

THEPLAN
Thefollowinggoals,objectives,strategies,andtacticshavebeendevelopedtomeettheclientstopneeds:

GOALS
Toprovideinnovative,interdisciplinarycybersecuritysolutionsthatresultinmeaningfulproductsand
policies,whichhavepositiveimpactonsocietyandtheworld.
Toworkwithindustryleadersanddedicatedresearchersaliketosupportthedevelopmentof
cybersecurityresearch,policies,andproducts.

OBJECTIVES
IncreasefundingforcybersecurityresearchconductedbyCARE.
Increasethenumberofmeaningfulpartnershipswithlocal,national,andinternationalindustriesrelated
toorconcernedwithcybersecurity.
IncreaseawarenessofCAREresearchandpublicationsamonghighlevelindustryexecutivesinkey
industries,suchasenergyandaviation.
Trackandincreasenumberofinteractionswithhighlevelindustryexecutivesinkeyindustries.
IncreaseoncampusawarenessofCAREeventsamongfacultyandadministration.
IncreaseandimproveCAREsonlinepresence.

STRATEGIES&TACTICS

STRATEGIES

TACTICS

BuildCAREbrandidentityandrecognition.

CreateaCAREspecificlogothatcanbeused
acrossmediaplatforms.
CreatesmallCAREbrandeditems(pen,
notepad)thancanbegiventoexistingpartners,
theadvisoryboard,andguestspeakerstobuild
awareness.

Presentkeystakeholders,faculty,andstudents
withmoreopportunitiestointeractwithCARE
online.

HostaConversationswithCARETwitterchat
encouraginghighlevelindustryexecutivesand
subjectmatterexpertstoweighinontimely
topics.
UseTwittertoraiseawarenessofCAREthrough
interactingwithMasonstudentspostingabout
cybersecuritytopics.
TweetaboutCAREsactivitiesforaweek
throughusingthe@GeorgeMasonUTwitter
handleinordertoreachfaculty,administration,
andstudentsatGeorgeMasonUniversity.

PositionCAREastheregionsfirstchoicein
strategiccybersecuritypartnerships.

Usethe@MasonCyberTwitteraccountto
interactwithpublicandprivatesector
organizationswhencybersecurityrelatedcontent
isposted.
Addinformationforpotentialpartnersaboutthe
benefitsofworkingwithCAREtotheexisting
website.
Draftpressrelease(s)aboutCAREpartnerships
tobedistributedtolocal/regionalmedia.
Createaonepager(orbrochure)about
partnershipopportunitiesforpotentialinvestors.
EstablishaMasonCAREsadvisoryboardfor
highlevelindustryleaderstoencouragetheir
participationandinvestmentinCARE.
Planandfacilitateanintroductoryluncheonfor
theMasonCAREsadvisoryboardfor
memberstointeractwitheachotherandthe
CAREteam.
CreatebrandedinvitationsfortheMason
CAREsadvisoryboardanditsevents.
Identifyandpromotemembershipbenefitsfor
CAREpartnersinvolvedintheadvisoryboard.

PositionCARE
asasaproviderofhighquality,
engagingeventsrelatingtocybersecurity.

CreateaCAREbrandedtemplateforemailed
invitationstoevents.
Implementposteventsurveystoguidethe
contentandstructureoffutureevents.
Improveexistingflyersforeventsand
opportunitiestogeneratemoreinterest.
Addeventstabtothewebsitetoallowfaculty
andpartnerstolocateupcomingopportunitiesto
getinvolved.

THEEXECUTION
WORKSCHEDULE
FEBRUARY

FEB.23,2016

Firstdraftofthepublicrelationsplan.

FEB.25,2016

Revisionstothefirstdraftofthepublicrelationsplan.

MARCH

MAR.4,2016

Finalversionofthepublicrelationsplan.

MAR.14,2016

*Tactic1readyforclientreview.

MAR.18,2016

*Tactic2readyforclientreview.

MAR.25,2016

*Tactic3readyforclientreview

APRIL

APR.25,2016

Writtenfinalreportsubmittedtoclient.

Inclasspresentationonclientwork.

*
Tactics13willbemutuallyagreeduponbythepublicrelationsteamandclient.Thetimelineforeditsand
finalreviewofthesetacticsbebasedontheclientsschedule.

EVALUATION&MEASUREMENT
Thefollowingcriteriawillbeusedtomeasurethedegreeofsuccessachievedbythepublicrelationstactics
executedthissemester.Thespecificcriteriausedwilldependuponthethreetacticsselectedandagreeduponby
thepublicrelationsteamandclient.

SOCIALMEDIA

Socialmediaimpressions
Pagelikes/accountfollows
Pageorcontentviews
Contentshares

CAMPUSEVENTS

Facultyattendance
Industrymemberattendance
Eventsatisfactionsurveyfeedback
Numberofpromotionscirculatedordisplayedfortheevent

PARTNERSHIPS

Ratioofhighlevelindustryexecutivescontactedversusthoseindicating
interest
Numberofhighlevelindustryexecutivesinterestedinadvisoryboard
positions
FinancialinvestmentsinUSD(andnumberofresultingprojects,if
applicable)

CONTACTINFORMATION

LORILAWSON

DANAFADDOUL

AccountSupervisor
Email:
llawson@gmu.edu
Phone:(757)7150800

PRCoordinator
Email:
dfaddoul@gmu.edu
Phone:(703)6065447

ANTONNETVILLARMA

KENDRALATHROP

PRCoordinator
Email:
avillarm@gmu.edu
Phone:(703)4742132

PRCoordinator
Email:
klathrop@gmu.edu
Phone:(570)5291796

AUDREYHUGHES

TODMOHNEY

PRCoordinator
Email:
ahughe16@gmu.edu
Phone:(703)7745235

PRCoordinator
Email:
tmohney@gmu.edu
Phone:(330)9935304