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The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing about cybersecurity and workforce training this week during which Gen. Keith Alexander, chief of both the National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Cyber Command, testified. Recent scrutiny on the NSA’s surveillance government programs – which has collected millions of telephone records and monitored Internet activity – were brought up during the hearing, slightly shifting the focus of the hearing from cybersecurity and workforce matters to privacy and surveillance concerns.

The Washington Post reported in their live updates Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski’s original goals for the hearing, which were to examine how to “protect the American people from cyber threats by working across government” and to “examine how agencies will use cyber security funding in the budget.” Though Mikulski did not address the National Security Agency’s recently criticized surveillance efforts, or what the Washington Post called “the elephant in the room,” these quickly surfaced as the hearing progressed.

According to CNN, senators from both parties questioned Gen. Alexander whom “provided a spirited defense for the programs he described as critical to counter-terrorism efforts. ‘I think what we’re doing to protect American citizens here is the right thing,” he said. ‘Our agency takes great pride in protecting this nation and our civil liberties and privacy, and doing it in partnership with this committee, with this Congress, and with the courts.’”

The hearing ended today with Mikulski saying “The hearing hasn’t been quite originally the way we thought, but it has been a good hearing.” The Washington Post in their live updates reported that “the original purpose of it was to discuss cybersecurity, but it was quickly dominated by the recent revelations about the NSA’s phone and Internet surveillance efforts. In closing, Mikulski said the debate about the balance between privacy and security is one well worth having.”

What do you think of the NSA’s surveillance programs? How can privacy and surveillance co-exist in a government setting? How about at your office? Let us know what you think on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to check out our Tumblr page for the latest industry news stories.

This blog post comes from Melissa Smith, HR Generalist at CSID.

Not only has CSID been increasing our market share, but our team has been growing as well. In 2012, CSID grew to over 100 employees, an impressive year to year increase of over 40%! This tremendous growth spurred the move to our spacious new office, close to downtown. There are many bonuses to the new location within walking distance, like great places to eat, Zilker Park and the fresh air on the Greenbelt.

Our Innovative Culture
With an employee growth rate that would make your mother blush, we definitely aren’t your average start-up. And the number one reason we’re on track to dominate the security market is very simple – our employees! Take our Sr. Cyber Security Engineer, Jagdish, for instance – of course he brings brains and determination, but most of all he brings innovation. Here’s what he had to say about working at CSID:

I like the fast paced environment that CSID provides as there is never a dull moment here. The people at CSID are smart, devoted and hardworking individuals that keep the energy levels high and exciting. Even though it is tough at first, jumping into the fire of project work makes you learn the product quickly and the teams we have in place are always willing and able to answer any questions that arise. The open communication with executive management is also key in keeping me abreast of our growth and future.

It’s people like Jagdish that are taking CSID to the next level. 2013 is shaping up to be another year of blisteringly fast growth. We are always on the lookout for excellent people; check out our Careers page for Current Openings.

We were happy to co-host a live Twitter chat (#IDTheftChat ) with the Identity Theft Resource Center this past Thursday. The chat covered cybersecurity in small businesses, exploring how small businesses are currently protecting their businesses, customers and employees from threatening cyber criminals, data breaches, malware and data loss.

We had a great turnout, with highly engaged participants who brought interesting perspectives. We covered an array of topics, including “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) security, small business credit scores, point-of-sale malware, physical data breaches and much more. Take a look at some highlights from the chat below.

What are you most concerned about when it comes to cybercrime and your small business? Join our conversations on Twitter at @CSIdentity, and be sure to RSVP for our upcoming webinar on the same topic on June 18^th at 12 p.m. CDT.