He keeps hackers from Navy ships

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk () c4i org>

http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/local/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1065097517305070.xml

October 02, 2003
By KAY RUDDEROW 
Staff Writer 

BRIDGETON -- U.S. Navy CT02 (SW) Ryan Nardi, who "joined the Navy to
see the world," spent three years of his tour of duty stationed in
Winter Harbor, Maine, a part of Arcadia National Park.

All he got to see was the beautiful view of the northern Atlantic
coast.
 
Then he was sent to the tropical island of Diego Garcia, where he was
on routine security patrol on the evening of Sept. 10, 2001, guarding
an all-but-empty airfield.

When he awoke the next morning, following the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11 that shook the nation's sense of security, the landing field
was full.

"You couldn't park a Volkswagen," Nardi told his parents, Thomas and
Melenie, of Bridgeton.

The airfield was filled with aircraft that, for various reasons, had
been sent to the Navy station located there.

Nardi, who graduated from Sacred Heart High School, Vineland in 1994
and joined the Navy in 1996, returned to his home port of San Diego,
Calif., a few weeks later and set sail for the Arabian Gulf aboard the
USS Nimitz.

As a computer network specialist, Nardi works to prevent hackers from
interrupting the passage of vital information and data that travels
through the Carrier Strike group's command.

He is temporarily assigned to the Nimitz' Operations Department from
Fleet Information Warfare Center Detachment, San Diego.

"I monitor the system, look for alerts, or something that doesn't look
normal," Nardi said in an interview with the Navy Newstand.

"I work with the information security manager to assist if there are
any questions, and I go around the Nimitz Strike Group to assist the
ships if they have alerts," he said.

Nardi's interest in computers and networking was gained early on in
his career where he heard stories about computer hackers, he said.

"I wanted to know how they were able to access systems and also how to
prevent that from happening. Anything can happen in this field," he
added.

As part of his job, Nardi ensures that the Navy maintains strong
passwords for each computer user's account, and those concerned will
know on what day a certain virus may attack the system.

"I love the work. It's fun. People may know what their jobs are every
day. For me, I never know when a virus may show up, or what's gong to
happen next," Nardi said.

Melenie Nardi, an obviously proud mother of this innovative young
sailor, said her son is one of the fortunate ones who can e-mail his
family once a week.

In one of them, she said, he paraphrased a line George Bailey used in
the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life.''

"Bailey may have liked hearing train whistles, plane engines, and
anchor chains. But a sailor likes to hear mail call, liberty call and
when this cruise will be over," he wrote.

And his mother hopes for that to be soon, so she can replace the small
flag with a lone star in the middle that flies outside the family's
home, signifying a member engaged in active duty, with another type of
flag, showing that he is safely home.


 
*==============================================================*
"Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
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