Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Federal Information Systems Security Association Educator of the Year

Congratulations to Mr. Michael Petock, U.S. Department of State, for being awarded the Federal Information Systems Security Educator’s Association (FISSEA) Educator of the Year!

Michael Petock was recognized as the FISSEA Educator of the Year at this year’s Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA) 31st Annual Conference. The conference kicked off March 14, 2018 in Gaithersburg, MD with a focus on “Hardening the Human: The Power of Cybersecurity Awareness and Training.”

Prior to the conference each year, FISSEA, an organization run by and for information security professionals to assist federal agencies in strengthening their employee security training and awareness programs, solicits nominations for the FISSEA Educator of the Year Award. This award was established to recognize and honor a contemporary who is making special efforts to create, build, manage, or inspire an information systems security awareness, training, or education program.
 
Michael Petock, a Subject Matter Expert in the Department of State’s Information Assurance Branch, is recognized for his significant contributions in the design, development, and maintenance of several role-based training courses supporting the Department of State’s information assurance (IA) training program. Implementing his vision in concert with customer feedback, he oversees, and completed revisions to six of the Department’s core courses to include Cybersecurity Foundations for ISSOs, Cybersecurity Foundations for System Administrators, IA for Managers, IA for System Owners, IA for Executives and Software Assurance for Developers. Mike’s detailed knowledge of cybersecurity principles, legislation, and policies has enabled him to be a contributor to National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) publication updates, multiple Department Foreign Affairs Manual policy updates, revisions to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies portal, and exercising due diligence with crosswalks between the Department’s IA training objectives and the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework.

Released March 14, 2018, Updated March 15, 2018