Overview
John McCarthy is a Senior Lecturer of the graduate faculty for Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, where he teaches a course on information security and critical infrastructure policy.
John A. McCarthy has a unique blend of executive level government, business, and academic experience in the areas of national security relative to the maritime and transportation sectors as well as in-depth knowledge of the governmental interagency process. An experienced program and crisis manager, he has been particularly successful in delivering policy and technical solutions that are time sensitive and national/international in scope. Mr. McCarthy is a recognized thought leader within the information security policy and risk management arenas and is considered an authority on critical infrastructure protection and business continuity management issues by industry and government practitioners alike.
Mr. McCarthy holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from The Citadel--Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., and an M.S. in Information Resource Management (specialization in government) from Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. He is also a graduate of the National Defense University--Information Resource Management College, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Naval War College--Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I. Additionally, he is a distinguished graduate of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Certificate program. His military and civilian awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Vice President’s National Partnership for Reinventing Government “Hammer” Award.
Research Interests
Mr. McCarthy is Director and Principal Investigator of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Program at the George Mason University School of Law, where he also holds a faculty appointment as Research Professor of Security Studies. The CIP Project began as a $6.5M directed appropriation from the Commerce Committee to develop and implement a broad inter- and intra-university research program that supports public and private sector research needs relative to critical infrastructure and homeland security. To date, more than 70 researchers at 15 different universities have been sponsored by the CIP Program including work in direct support of The White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and key industry sectors. Under Mr. McCarthy’s leadership, the CIP Project funding has grown to over $24M in follow-on grants and has been cited by both the Governor of Virginia and federal homeland security leaders as a model academic program supporting the national CIP agenda.
Professional Interests
Mr. McCarthy's professional background and interests include serving as a Director in KPMG LLP’s Mid-Atlantic Risk and Advisory Services practice in Washington, D.C., where he provided computer security, critical infrastructure, and business continuity management solutions to government clients. Prior to joining KPMG, Mr. McCarthy served as a member of the professional staff of the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO), which supported the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism located within the National Security Council. He assisted in the development of an integrated National Infrastructure Assurance Strategy to address risks and threats to the nation’s critical infrastructures. During the Y2K Conversion Period, Mr. McCarthy worked for the Assistant to the President for Y2K, coordinating cyber-security preparedness planning efforts within the public, private, and academic sectors. He played a key role in helping to build and operate the National Y2K Information Coordination Center (ICC) and served first as the ICCs Chief-of-Staff and then as the Deputy Director for Cyber Assurance.
With more than 20 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Mr. McCarthy served in a wide variety of demanding field command and senior staff positions including command-at-sea and personal Aide to 19th Commandant. During the Gulf War, Mr. McCarthy helped design and supervise United Nation sanction-enforcement operations against Iraq. He has also held numerous positions at all levels of the federal response process including pre-designated Federal On-scene Coordinator (alternate) and Federal On-scene Coordinator’s Representative under the National Contingency Plan. Mr. McCarthy was a senior member of the multi-agency, on-sight command cadre responding to the downing of TWA Flight 800 off the south shore of Long Island, New York.