Cyber Advisory on TikTok
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Cyber Advisory on TikTok

Cybersecurity Advisory | December 12, 2022

Due to significant concerns from Government and industry, Forge Institute is recommending that individuals remove TikTok from their devices and that organizations ban the application on work devices.

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2022 NWA Tech Summit names Lee Watson of Forge Institute the “Emerging Innovator of the Year”
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2022 NWA Tech Summit names Lee Watson of Forge Institute the “Emerging Innovator of the Year”

“The Emerging Innovator of the Year is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding technical or entrepreneurial talent, contributed positively to Northwest Arkansas, and helped advance the region’s economic ecosystem. We were excited to name Lee Watson of the Forge Institute as this year’s honoree.” –Kristopher Adams, Director of the NWA Technology Summit at the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce.

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Forge Institute’s Annual Cybersecurity Summit Sparks Essential Collaborations 
News Lee Watson News Lee Watson

Forge Institute’s Annual Cybersecurity Summit Sparks Essential Collaborations 

The Arkansas Cybersecurity Summit, which was held in Central Arkansas, brings industry, critical infrastructure organizations, academia (researchers and students), state and local government, federal agencies and military together to discuss global cyber threat activity, workforce programs/needs, and to raise awareness of opportunities/programs that help Arkansas robust its cyber defenses and increase economic prosperity for our state. This year’s focus was “Developing Arkansas as the Cyber Defense State.”

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Blog Lee Watson Blog Lee Watson

Simplifying How Organizations Recru(IT) Talent: Forge Institute and Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Partner to Build Relationships between Recent Graduates & Hiring Employers

You have the skills. You know what you want to do. Now you just have to find that perfect job. When you have everything figured out, why is finding a job the hardest part? Forge Institute and Conway Area Chamber of Commerce partnered in efforts to overcome this challenge by connecting graduates of Forge Institute’s IT/Cyber Fundamentals program with companies that have open entry level positions through an event structured similar to a speed dating event. 

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Selfless collaboration is how we defeat cyberterrorism 
Blog Lee Watson Blog Lee Watson

Selfless collaboration is how we defeat cyberterrorism 

Forge Institute has become an effective conduit for promoting and establishing collaborative partnerships that are essential to our nation’s cybersecurity. In recent months, we’ve formed strategic alliances between universities, government institutions, and private cybersecurity firms to create a powerful network determined to secure our nation’s digital infrastructure. The pursuit of allying ourselves with like minded organizations is ongoing, and is assisted by a new collaboration recently formed with Nonprofit Cyber. 

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Forge Institute Awarded Grant to Help Arkansas Small Businesses Combat Emerging Cyber Threats
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Forge Institute Awarded Grant to Help Arkansas Small Businesses Combat Emerging Cyber Threats

Forge Institute announced today that it has been selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as one of three (3) awardees of the Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program. The funding allows the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) – which launched last spring – to further build capacity and expand critical cybersecurity services to address the escalating cyber attacks targeting small businesses.

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Cyber Analyst
Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson

Cyber Analyst

Forge Institute seeks an experienced Cyber Analyst / Customer Service Representative responsible for managing repository data collection surrounding cyber incidents in Arkansas. This individual must be service-oriented and expected to prepare reports to create standard operating procedures and best practices based on the collected data. The analyst will also be responsible for writing, presenting, and communicating to Forge Institute’s team, customers, and partners. 

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Cyber (SOC) Intern
Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson

Cyber (SOC) Intern

Forge Institute seeks an experienced Cyber SOC Intern responsible for assisting with repository data collection surrounding cyber incidents in Arkansas. This individual must be service-oriented. The intern will also be responsible for writing, presenting, and communicating to Forge Institute’s team, customers, and partners. 

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Forging a recognizable brand
Blog Lee Watson Blog Lee Watson

Forging a recognizable brand

When Forge Institute was created in 2018, a square logo made sense. I designed it myself. It was self-contained, simple, and looked good enough on the corner of a press release or stamped into a coffee mug. Many brands have been well-served with a square logo, but for some reason, ours just didn't feel right. Plus, we needed one and I only had 5 minutes in between projects…

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Forge announces world-renowned speakers for annual Cybersecurity Summit
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Forge announces world-renowned speakers for annual Cybersecurity Summit

Each year, Forge hosts the Arkansas Cyber Summit as a way to bring industry, critical infrastructure organizations, academia (researchers and students), state and local government, federal agencies and military together to discuss global cyber threat activity, workforce programs/needs, and to raise awareness of opportunities/programs that help Arkansas robust its cyber defenses and increase economic prosperity for our state. This year’s focus is on developing Arkansas as the Cyber Defense State. Topics include Securing the Defense Industrial Base to Grow Arkansas Jobs; Engaging State & Local Government in Cyber Defense; Trust Officer vs. CISO - What Do We Need Now; National Security Risks & Opportunities from Emerging Technologies; and so much more. 

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Admin Assistant
Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson Careers, Open Positions Lee Watson

Admin Assistant

Forge Institute seeks an Administrative Assistant (AA) who will assist with the day-to-day operations responsible for general office tasks and administrative duties, such as directing communications between colleagues and partners & participants, organizing schedules and events, entering data, bookkeeping, maintaining office equipment and so on. Our ideal candidate learns quickly when facing new situations, experiments to find new solutions, takes on challenges of unfamiliar tasks, extracts lessons-learned from failures and mistakes, and expands knowledge base through ongoing curiosity. We’re looking for someone who will enable teams & individuals to be focused on their goals and prepared for anything that comes their way. This is a vital role, especially for our team members that have a lot of plates in the air at all times.

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Forge Institute partners with DoD SkillBridge to support Service members' transition gap to civilian careers
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Forge Institute partners with DoD SkillBridge to support Service members' transition gap to civilian careers

A year ago, I began my transition from a 20-year career in the United States Air Force to civilian life. The drastic life change can be daunting to many service members, myself included. There is a fantastic plethora of organizations and programs to help with this monumental task. Wading through the information from these groups is like drinking from a fire hose and can become overwhelming. The program that has had the most significant impact on my transition is DOD SkillBridge. The SkillBridge program allows service members to spend up to their last 180 days in service working with a private organization. 

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