Center for Assurance Research and Engineering

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The October 30, 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence: Is It Making Your Intellectual Property More Secure?, CARE Article by Gary Rinkerman

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ABSTRACT

The recent Biden White House Executive Order on artificial intelligence is a sweeping attempt to assess, monitor, regulate, and direct developments in this important area of technological growth.  However, while the Order contemplates massive and thorough (arguably intrusive) collections of information, including information that will be trade secret and otherwise commercially valuable, it does not specifically address the issue of how better to ensure that government officials, employees, agents, and contractors have proper training to make sure that third-party proprietary rights in that information are preserved and the information is not “leaked” or otherwise improperly published by those acting under color of federal authority.  In addition, while the Order seeks information to better assess the refusal by the U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent Office to afford protection to matter created wholly by artificial intelligence, there is a lack of specific direction on the potential need to alter these positions or focus on developing – at the federal or state levels – new forms of intellectual property protection for such matter.

JANUARY 2024

AUTHOR

Gary Rinkerman is a partner at the law firm of FisherBroyles LLP, an Honorary Professor of U.S. Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary University in London, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Assurance Research and Engineering (“CARE”) in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University, Virginia. For those interested in “digital archeology,” Professor Rinkerman also successfully argued one of the first cases in which copyright in object code was enforced and he co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief for Computer Law Reporter, one of the first legal publications (in the 1980s) to focus exclusively on law and computer technologies. This article should not be considered legal advice. The presentation of facts and the opinions expressed in this article are attributable solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any persons, organizations or entities with which he is affiliated or whom he represents. The author would also like to thank J.P. Auffret, Director of CARE, for his continuing support and for his expertise in the frontier areas of Artificial Intelligence.

J.P. Auffret speaks at Health Talk Summit, Pakistan

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Dr. J.P. Auffret, Director, CARE, joins the Health Tech Summit organized by Aga Khan University and Hospitals on December 7th, 2023 for a discussion on Round Table 2: Unlocking the Power of Emerging Technologies for Next-Level Capabilities.

For more information on the Health Tech Summit and the agenda, please visit this link

As a result of this summit, the conference organizers recommended the following three suggestions to the Prime Minister, which were accepted and will be enacted.

  1. The creation of a Prime Minister’s Technology Council, composed of leading professionals in Pakistan as well as international experts;
  2. The creation of a think tank whose mandate would be to develop policies that ensure the development and retention of highly skilled professionals within Pakistan;
  3. The implementation of an Electronic Health Record system shared across all Government hospitals.

Virginia State and Local Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop

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Virginia State & Local Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop
Join us for the Mason – NSF Virginia state and local government cybersecurity partnering workshop at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.

The workshop is a follow-on to the Virginia workshops we held in Richmond July 26, 2022, fall of 2017 and subsequent regional workshops.

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.

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: [email protected]

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

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.

West Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop

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West Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop

Thursday, July 20th, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Days Inn Conference Center
350 Days Drive
Sutton, West Virginia 26601

Please join us for the West Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop

When: Thursday, July 20, 2023, 9:30am – 4:00 pm, Days Inn Conference Center, Sutton, WV

Who should attend: State and local government administrators, state and local IT and cybersecurity managers and staff, government election officials, County Clerks, election experts, police and emergency IT managers and SCADA systems experts (water, electricity, etc.)

Hosted by: West Virginia Office of Technology, West Virginia Secretary of State CIO’s Office, George Mason University

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: [email protected] or [email protected].

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.

 

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.

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

The Business of Energy

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

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 [email protected].

More information: https://iacio.org/

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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.