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Meet the Tech Exec Event: Featuring Paul Hong and Kevin Donohue, AWS Cloud Assurance

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Meet the Tech Exec: Amazon Cloud Security Assurance & Careers Event

Featuring Paul Hong and Kevin Donohue, AWS Cloud Assurance
Wednesday, April 12
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Johnson Center Cinema at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus

Meet with business leaders from Amazon Web Services and learn about the field of Cloud Security Assurance and careers at Amazon Web Services from Paul Hong and Kevin Donahue, AWS.

Please RSVP: https://MasonAmazonCareerNetworkingApril12.eventbrite.com

Paul Hong, CISSP, CPA, Security Assurance Training and Education Lead

Paul develops and delivers cloud security and compliance trainings for regulated industries, including the US government. Paul’s work also includes enabling public sector and regulated industry adoption of the AWS Cloud. Prior to joining AWS, Paul spent his career as an IT security professional working directly with Fortune 500 companies auditing or consulting on IT process, security, and risk projects. Paul is a CISSP, CEH, and CPA, and holds a Masters of Accounting Information Systems and a Bachelors of Business Administration from James Madison University, Virginia.

Kevin Donohue, CISSP, Senior Customer Enablement Manager, Global Regulatory Operations, AWS Security

Kevin has been with AWS since 2019 and is currently a senior manager in the Security Assurance org. He leads security and compliance initiatives for various government and commercial certifications and helps customers understand the shared responsibility model. He holds CISSP, AWS Cloud Practitioner and Solutions Architect Associate certifications. Before joining AWS, Kevin worked in the commercial cybersecurity practice at PwC and prior to that, the U.S. State Department. Originally from New Jersey, Kevin now lives with his wife and daughter in Alexandria, VA.

More information about the Johnson Center Cinema.

For more information, please contact: jauffret@gmu.edu or cbatchel@gmu.edu.

This event is hosted by Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing‘s Center for Assurance Research & Engineering (CARE), the Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) and School of Business.

 

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JP Auffret to Co-Lead First-of-its-Kind Mason Center for Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience

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January 17, 2023 / By John Hollis

George Mason University will expand its research and real-world impact in Northern Virginia with a pair of projects that were made possible by the efforts of U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) to address cybersecurity and mental health care needs.

Mason will receive $1 million in federal funding to support the creation a first-of-its-kind Mason Center for Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience, and nearly $1 million for the Saving Lives and Decreasing Health Disparities project. Funding for both efforts came as part of the federal omnibus appropriations bill that President Biden recently signed into law to fund the government through Fiscal Year 2023.

Connolly, whose 11th District includes Fairfax, is a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and his party’s lead on the Subcommittee on Government Operations.

“George Mason University is a pillar of our community, but the effects of its world-class education and world-changing research can be felt throughout the country,” said Connolly.

The future Center for Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience will act as a strategic partner in federal government cybersecurity and IT modernization efforts, translate state-of-the-art research on technology modernization and cybersecurity in federal practice, collate and disseminate best practices on federal government agency cybersecurity, and foster U.S. government cybersecurity organizational capacity.

The center will bring together experts in IT modernization, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure systems to develop and provide in-person, hybrid, live virtual, and online executive education, tabletop exercises and workshops for federal government IT and cybersecurity executives and middle managers. In addition, the center will leverage Mason’s Institute for Digital Innovation, which integrates transdisciplinary centers and labs with deep interdisciplinary expertise across all facets of cybersecurity research, governance, policy, and education.

Amarda Shehu, associate vice president of research at the Institute for Digital Innovation, and professor of computer science with Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing, will operate the center along with J.P. Auffret, the director of research partnerships and grants initiatives in the School of Business and the director of the Center for Assurance Research and Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing.

“This is further evidence of the value and depth of Mason’s research, programs, and outreach in cybersecurity,” said Ken Ball, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. “This funding will help us strengthen our programs and generate new discoveries that will make our nation more secure.”

“We are exceptionally grateful to Congressman Connolly for championing the central importance of cybersecurity for the federal government,” added Shehu and Auffret. “We are excited to engage with federal IT and cyber executives to modernize and secure systems, and advance excellence.”

Mason has a 25-year history in government IT leadership and governance education, including as a founding partner in the U.S. Federal CIO University and as a founding partner in the International Academy of CIO. Mason’s partners include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, the Commonwealth of Virginia state government, the West Virginia state government, Connected DMV, and others.

Andre Marshall, Mason’s vice president for research, innovation and economic impact, praised Connolly for his continued leadership in the areas of federal cybersecurity and IT modernization.

“I am so proud to have secured funding for the Mason Center for Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience, the first of its kind, and I can’t wait to see the results in action,” he said.

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Directions to the Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum

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George Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION

Mason FUSE Pilot Space
Vernon Smith Hall - Plaza Level
3434 Washington Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia

The Mason FUSE Pilot Space is at the front of Vernon Smith Hall (3434 Washington Boulevard).
If you’re entering from Washington Boulevard, go up the stairs, enter the building and the space is just on the right.

Vernon Smith Hall

PARKING

Please find below three options (with maps).

Van Metre Parking Garage

Park in the Van Metre Parking garage (usual parking garage, enter via N Kirkwood Road – The entrance is located on Founders Way North, located behind Van Metre Hall off Kirkwood Road. To access the Van Metre Hall garage, use the alley behind Van Metre Hall, turning off Kirkwood Drive behind Hazel Hall), exit the elevators by Au Bon Pain (main floor), and then make your way to the other building *Vernon Smith* to the parking garage using the “bridge”. Go to the elevator bank in that building’s parking garage, go to P (plaza or lobby level)

The FUSE Pilot Space is a short staircase up from the street level of 3434 Washington Boulevard.

Vernon Smith Parking Garage

From Washington Boulevard, enter via Founders Way and go to P level.  Founders Way is just after Giant supermarket.

St. Charles Catholic Church

Street parking on Fairfax Dr near St. Charles Catholic Church

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The Business of Energy

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Please join us 11/7. More info here: https://business.gmu.edu/current-students/career-services

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International Academy of CIO (IAC) 2022 Virtual MiniConference

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IAC 2022 MiniConference “Redefining the Role of the CIO in the Age of AI”

December 15, 2022 (Virtual)

7:00 AM – 10:00 AM – Eastern Time (US and Canada) & 9:00 P.M. – 12:00 MIDNIGHT JAPAN TIME

TOPICS

CIO and IT Leadership
Institutions and Institutional Capacity Building
Digital Transformation and Society
CIO Education

SPEAKERS

  • Professor Toshio Obi, Ph.D., President Emeritus, International Academy of CIO
    Naoko Iwasaki, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of e Government, Waseda University, Japan, President of IAC Japan
  • Shaukat Ali Khan, Global CIO, Aga Khan University and Hospitals in Asia, Africa and United Kingdom, Pakistan
  • Sundar Balakrishna, Ph.D., Special Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • YoungSik Kim- E-Government Consultant, UNU-EGOV, Digital Government Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Andrew Beklemishev, Vice President – CIS Region, IDC, Kazakhstan
  • Fengchun Yang, Ph.D., Director, Academy of eGovernment, Peking University, China
  • Suhono Supangkat, Ph.D., Director of Smart Cities and Communities Innovation Centre, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
  • Jirapon Sunkpho, Ph.D., Vice Rector and CIO, Thammasat University, Thailand
  • Ken Wang, Director, Department of Digital Service, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Taiwan
  • Francisco Magno, Ph.D., Director, Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance, De La Salle University, Philippines
  • Alexander Ryzhov, Ph.D., Professor, Head of Chair, Russia Presidential Academy of Public Administration (RANEPA), Russia
  • Naoko Mizukoshi, Founder and President, Leftright Law and IP, Japan
  • Hiroko Kudo, Ph.D., Professor Public Policy and Management, Chuo University, Japan
  • Luca Buccoliero, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Marketing, Bocconi University, Italy
  • Elena Bellio, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Marketing, Bocconi University, Italy
  • Liao Hsin Chung, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Taiwan E-Governance Research Center, Taiwan
  • J.P. Auffret, Ph.D., George Mason University; President, International Academy of CIO

AGENDA

7:00 a.m. Welcome

7:05 a.m. Professor Toshio Obi, Ph.D., President Emeritus, International Academy of CIO

7:15 a.m. Naoko Iwasaki, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of e Government, Waseda University, Japan, President of IAC Japan

Session 1 – CIO and IT Leadership

7:25 a.m. Shaukat Ali Khan, Global CIO, Aga Khan University and Hospitals in Asia, Africa and United Kingdom, Pakistan

7:35 a.m. Fengchun Yang, Ph.D., Director, Academy of eGovernment, Peking University, China Centre, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

7:55 a.m. Andrew Beklemishev, Vice President – CIS Region, IDC, Kazakhstan

8:05 a.m. Liao Hsin Chung, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Taiwan E-Governance Research Center, Taiwan

Session 2 – Digital Transformation and Society

8:15 a.m. Ken Wang, Director, Department of Digital Service, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Taiwan

8:25 a.m. Francisco Magno, Ph.D., Director, Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance, De La Salle University, Philippines

8:35 a.m. Naoko Mizukoshi, Founder and President, Leftright Law and IP, Japan

8:45 a.m. Hiroko Kudo, Ph.D., Professor Public Policy and Management, Chuo University, Japan

8:55 a.m. Elena Bellio, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Marketing, Bocconi University, Italy

Session 3 – CIO, CIO Institutions and Capacity Building

9:05 a.m. Jirapon Sunkpho, Ph.D., Vice Rector and CIO, Thammasat University, Thailand

9:15 a.m. Sundar Balakrishna, Ph.D., Special Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India

9:25 a.m. YoungSik Kim, E-Government Consultant, UNU-EGOV, Digital Government Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

9:35 a.m. Luca Buccoliero, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Marketing, Bocconi University, Italy

9:45 a.m. Alexander Ryzhov, Ph.D., Professor, Head of Chair, Russia Presidential Academy of Public Administration (RANEPA), Russia

9:55 a.m. J.P. Auffret, Ph.D., George Mason University; President, International Academy of CIO, USA

10:00 a.m. Closing

For more information, please contact J.P. Auffret at jauffret@gmu.edu.

More information: https://iacio.org/

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Mason – NSF Local Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop – Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula

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Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula – Mason & NSF Local Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop at the Historic Beale Sanctuary in Tappahannock, Virginia

Hosted by George Mason University and National Science Foundation

The workshop is follow-on to the Virginia workshop we held in Richmond in the fall of 2017 and subsequent regional workshops in Roanoke, Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, and Leesburg, Purcellville, Richmond and more.

Topics and discussion will include: ransomware update, cyber insurance, Commonwealth of Virginia update, CISA update, election security, K – 12, regional SOCs and new DHS and CISA funding opportunities amongst others.

Please RSVP: https://NorthernNeckMiddlePeninsulaMasonNSF.eventbrite.com. No cost to register / attend – Lunch provided.

Who should attend: State and Local Government Administrators, IT and Cybersecurity Administrators, K-12 IT and Cybersecurity Administrators and Police and Emergency IT Managers

For more information: jauffret@gmu.edu

Hosts and Organizers: George Mason University and the National Science Foundation.

About the Workshop:

The workshop builds upon many state and local government cybersecurity workshops held in 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 with the objective of discussing current cybersecurity challenges and associated potential partnering and funding opportunities.

The workshop is part of the George Mason-National Science Foundation Cybersecurity City and County Cross Jurisdictional Collaboration project, having the goal of furthering U.S. city and county cybersecurity efforts by developing foundations and policies that enable and foster city and county cybersecurity partnerships.

The Mason-NSF project has co-hosted 13 successful local government cybersecurity partnership workshops in Virginia and West Virginia between 2017 and 2022.

Follow us on Twitter @MasonCyber for more up-to-date discussions on cybersecurity and innovation.

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New Date Announced for Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum

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The George Mason University Cybersecurity Innovation Forum

Please join us for the George Mason University Cybersecurity Forum. The Forum will consist of a series of 15-20 minute case study presentations by cybersecurity experts and technology innovators followed by a Q&A. There will be complimentary refreshments.

The focus of the events is on cybersecurity innovation including innovation rationale and motivation, technology, metrics, and lessons learned.

Please RSVP: https://CyberforumDec7.eventbrite.com

Mason's Cybersecurity Innovation Forum Adds "Fuse at Mason Square" as New Location

Recently announced, George Mason University’s Arlington Campus is now Mason Square, an urban destination of learning, collaboration, and economic development.

Fuse at Mason Square is a first-of-its-kind facility bringing together the public and private sectors in a collaborative alliance to solve grand challenges. Fuse houses faculty and students working with the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) and their partners, and graduate programs from Mason’s new School of Computing. Designed to support digital innovation, active learning, cutting-edge research, business entrepreneurs, and tech incubators alongside education and policymakers, the new space offers nearly 350,000 square feet designed for the needs of the next generation of Northern Virginia’s technology workforce.

For a map of Vernon Smith Hall and information about public transportation and location, please go to: https://arlington.gmu.edu.

The Cybersecurity Innovation Forum Series is generously supported by Accenture.

George Mason University’s (GMU) College Engineering and Computing's Center for Assurance Research & Engineering and School of Business sponsor the events.

Follow us on Twitter @MasonCyber for more up-to-date discussions on cybersecurity and innovation.

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Important Internet security service now housed in the Mason College of Engineering and Computing

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This fall, George Mason University will become the new home of one of the Internet’s venerable monitoring and measurement services: the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) Deployment Maps. This service plays a prominent role in chronicling the evolution of a critical part of Internet security and has been under the stewardship of the Internet Society (ISOC) since 2014. The maps were originally developed by Shinkuro, Inc. with sponsorship by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The transition to Mason is being facilitated with sponsorship from the Internet Society, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and Verisign, Inc.

Eric Osterweil, Assistant Professor in the Mason Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Computing, has been instrumental in bringing the deployment maps to Mason, reaching an agreement to host it at Mason’s Center for Assurance Research and Engineering (CARE, directed by J.P. Auffret) and the Measurable Security Lab (MSL) in the Computer Science department. “We are excited to provide a new home for this important activity,” Osterweil says. “People all over the world access the deployment maps and will now associate them with Mason.”

The deployment maps service tracks how DNSSEC has been deployed worldwide for top-level domains and has been a staple of the Internet security community for years. With almost 17 years of deployment, the maps database is fertile ground for conducting basic research and connecting students with real operational cybersecurity issues. Osterweil notes that the security DNSSEC provides to Internet users is incredibly essential, even if in the background. “The average person will never know about DNSSEC. It’s a lot like saying, ‘What’s the formula of the asphalt I drive on?’ It’s really important, but not important that I have any idea about it.”

DNS is the Internet’s de facto name-mapping system, translating domain names (like gmu.edu) into IP addresses and other identifiers. However, data from the DNS is not inherently secure, as “the IP address of a DNS response can be easily forged, or spoofed,” according to ICANN. DNSSEC enhances DNS with authentication protections, using public-key cryptography, so users can be confident that website visits and emails connect them to entities they want to reach. DNSSEC prevents attacks like cache poisoning and domain redirection, which can result in fraud, malware distribution, and theft of personal, confidential information.

“Internet administrators and researchers anywhere in the world receive weekly email summaries of the current DNSSEC deployment. New services will be added when the system is fully transitioned to George Mason,” says Osterweil. The maps are used by the Internet operations, standards, and policy communities as a resource for the current (and past) state of deployment. “We really want to take the deployment maps service and evolve it into an observatory for this critical infrastructure.” As part of the transition to Mason, Osterweil is establishing an external advisory board, composed of industry stalwarts and chaired by Stephen Crocker (an inductee into the Internet Hall of Fame, author/editor of RFC 1, and founding chair of the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee, SSAC), to help steer and evolve the service. With their cooperation, the deployment maps will be evolved and integrated into a new holistic Internet Namespace Security Observatory in CARE at Mason.

“We are glad that George Mason University is taking on this important work,” said Dan York, director of online content at the Internet Society. “The maps have been a useful way to track the state of DNSSEC deployment over many years. We look forward to seeing how GMU evolves and improves the maps further.”

Osterweil is in talks with multiple industry partners and traditional sources to help support research using the Deployment Maps. Further, he is planning to leverage the service for its research value and use it to enhance teaching, as well as a hands-on experience for student researchers.  “Analyses of historical datasets of critical infrastructure like DNSSEC are critical in understanding large-scale events and behaviors.  The Internet Namespace Security Observatory will synthesize measurable properties of Internet naming systems (such as DNS, DNSSEC, DANE records, etc.) and provide measurable telemetry to evaluate how well dependent systems, protocols, and users are able to validate security protections.”

Osterweil and colleagues announced the transition of the maps publicly at the ICANN’s 74 meeting in The Hague, Netherlands in June.

Founded in 1992 by Internet pioneers, the Internet Society is a global non-profit organization working to ensure the Internet remains a force for good for everyone. Through its community of members, special interest groups, and 130+ chapters around the world, the organization promotes Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally-connected, and secure.

The College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University is a fast-growing force for innovation in technology and education. The college boasts over 10,000 students in two schools, 37 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, including several first-in-the-nation offerings. As part of a nationally ranked research university, its research teams earned more than $61 million in sponsored research awards in the last 12 months. Located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor, the college stands out for its focus on emerging areas including big data, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, robotics and autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning, signals and communications, and sustainable infrastructure.

ICANN’s mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or another device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.

Verisign, a global provider of domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure, enables Internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. Verisign enables the security, stability, and resiliency of key Internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global Internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net top-level domains, which support the majority of global e-commerce. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit verisign.com.

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Mason – NSF Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop, Richmond VA, July 26th

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Steve Meckl Managing Director at Accenture Security Speaking at Next Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum April 20

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Please join us for the George Mason University Cybersecurity Innovation Forum on April 20, 2022 from 7-9pm at the Country Club of Fairfax. The Forum will consist of a series of 15-20 minute case study presentations by cybersecurity experts and technology innovators followed by a Q&A. The focus of the events is on cybersecurity innovation including innovation rationale and motivation, technology, metrics, and lessons learned.

Speakers:

Dr. Steve Meckl, Managing Director at Accenture Security will present Deep Dive on Security Posture. In this talk, Steve Meckl will provide an overview of how Accenture Managed Extended Detection and Response (MxDR), leverages emerging cybersecurity threat intelligence, data analytics, the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and their unique global view of live attacks to drive a strategic approach to defending global computer networks.

Steve Meckl is the global delivery lead for Accenture Managed Extended Detection and Response (MxDR), responsible for monitoring some of the world’s largest and most complex networks for sophisticated cybersecurity threats.

Before joining Accenture, Dr. Meckl was Unit Chief of the FBI Cyber Division’s Technical Operations Unit. In that role, he led the Cyber Action Team (CAT), FBI’s elite cyber incident response team. He also created and led the Cyber Denial & Deception program, a team of engineers and Agents responsible for developing cutting-edge tools and technologies aimed at disrupting Advanced Persistent Threat groups targeting critical US networks. As a Unit Chief in FBI Cyber Division, Dr. Meckl received the 2014 Director’s Award for Outstanding Technical Advancement, the most prestigious award given to FBI Agents. He also received the 2015 High Impact Leader Award, recognizing excellence in leadership within the FBI.

Prior to his US Government experience, Dr. Meckl was a security software engineer, designing secure systems and protocols for high-availability web services and Windows desktop environments. Dr. Meckl received his PhD in Computer Science at George Mason University and his MS in Information Security and Assurance from George Mason University and BSE Computer Engineering from University of Michigan.

Follow us on Twitter @MasonCyber for more up-to-date discussions on cybersecurity and innovation.

George Mason University’s (GMU) Volgenau School of Engineering’s CARE Center and School of Business sponsor the events.

The Cybersecurity Innovation Forum Series is generously supported by Accenture.

Please RSVP here https://aprilmasoncyberforum.eventbrite.com