NYU-Poly Sloan Lecture Series
Cyber Security Lecture #2
DEFENDING CYBERSPACE: Are We Ready?
In NYU-Poly’s second, eagerly anticipated Sloan Cyber Security Lecture, the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Director discusses current cyber security threats, vulnerabilities and trends. Debora A. Plunkett outlines critical steps that must be taken to ensure our nation is ready to meet future cyber security challenges. While exploring key technology trends affecting our security posture, IA Director Plunkett highlights the importance of building a robust cyber workforce. Continuing the theme covered by the first lecture in the series, Ms. Plunkett underscores the essential importance of strong industry, government, and academic partnerships, and highlights the tactical benefits of information sharing. The lecture concludes with a call to introduce standard processes and practices, across industry and government, to combat the growing cyber threat.
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Distinguished Lecturer
Debora A. Plunkett is Director of the Information Assurance Directorate (IAD) at the National Security Agency, leading the country’s efforts to protect and defend national security systems. Currently at the center of national cyber security, cryptography and information systems security, Ms. Plunkett previously held other NSA leadership positions in signals intelligence and information assurance. At the White House of both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, she served as a Director in National Security Council, helping shape critical infrastructure protection and cyber security policy and programs. Ms. Plunkett earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Towson University and her MBA at Johns Hopkins. A graduate of the National War College, where she was awarded a Master of Science in National Security Strategy, she has also completed the Intelligence Fellows Program. Ms. Plunkett has received numerous awards and honors, including the rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Cryptologic Executive Service awarded by President George W. Bush.
Distinguished Panel
William J. Wansley
Senior Vice President
Booz Allen Hamilton
A Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, William Wansley provides consulting services to financial enterprises in the commercial, nonprofit, and government sectors. Wansley leads multidisciplinary management and technology teams in advanced cyber security services, specializing in risk management, compliance, regulatory risk assessment, and advanced cyber security assessment and remediation. Previously, he served as program manager for several national security projects. Earlier in his career, Wansley served as a US Army officer, national security policy planner, and a management consultant for the US intelligence community. He has been a strategic planner for the Joint Strategic Planning System for the Directorate of Strategic Plans and Policy, J5, Joint Staff. Later, he again served the J5 as a national security policy planner and Joint Staff representative for international negotiations on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. He is the author of several monographs on tactical leadership and a theory of peace, based on integrating military theory and business management. He holds an MBA from Creighton University, an MMAS in Theater Operations from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), and a BS in General Engineering from West Point.
Bill Phelps
Managing Director
NA Security Practice Lead
Global Cyber Security Lead
Accenture
Bill Phelps is a Managing Director in Accenture's security practice. In his career, as practice leader, company founder, board member and advisor, he has helped organizations with complex management and technology challenges in information security, data center transformation and technology strategy. Phelps leads Accenture's North American Security Practice, assisting clients in addressing complex security challenges in health and public service, financial services, resources, communications and high-tech industries. He also leads Accenture's global program, assisting government and private sector organizations addressing cyber security threats with analytics, information protection, mobile and Cloud security.
Previously, he held executive positions at SevenSpace, which he founded, and True North Solutions. Earlier, he worked in the communications industry. Phelps earned his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin, where he won the 1986 Moot Corp Venture Design Competition. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut.
Joanne Martin
Vice President
Information Technology Risk, IBM
Joanne Martin was unable to attend.
Joanne Martin is a Distinguished Engineer and Vice President for Information Technology Risk as well as IBM's Chief Information Security Officer. Prior to her current role, she served as Vice President of Technology in IBM's Enterprise Transformation unit, supporting IBM's technical strategy for the company's global technical community. A Past-President of the IBM Academy of Technology, Martin was Vice President of Infrastructure Management Services for Global Technology Services. Previous assignments include Director of Workforce and Knowledge Enablement, Director of New Offering Solutions, and IGS Director of Solution Development and Delivery for ibm.com, as well as Executive Assistant to Bruce Harreld, IBM's Senior Vice President for Strategy. She was also Business Line Manager for Scientific and Technical Computing for the RS6000 Division. Founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Supercomputer Applications, Martin was on the steering committee that created the successful ACM/IEEE conference series on High Performance Computing and Communications. Martin has served as an advisor to the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and National Research Council. Martin earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins and was named by Working Mother as one of the 25 most influential working mothers in 1998.
Welcome Presented by NYU-Poly President Jerry Hultin
Jerry M. Hultin, is president of Polytechnic Institute of New York University where he led a university-wide initiative to redefine the school's role for the 21st Century, resulting in a strategic plan that introduces invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship known as i2e into the Institute’s teaching and research life. Under his leadership, the Institute affiliated with New York University, one of the nation's largest comprehensive research universities. Before joining NYU-Poly, President Hultin served as Dean of the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management and Professor of Management at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. At Stevens, he expanded the Howe School’s graduate programs in technology management and presided over a major increase in research funding. Earlier, President Hultin served as Under Secretary of the Navy, the Department’s number two civilian leader, where he led numerous strategic programs to meet the evolving needs of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Lecture Series Chairman, Nasir Memon
Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, NYU-Polytechnic Institute
Professor Nasir Memon of NYU-Poly, Lecture Series Chairman, is an internationally respected expert in cyber security. His research interests include digital forensics, data compression, computer and network security and multimedia computing and security. He has published more than 250 articles in scholarly journals and conference proceedings and holds more than a dozen patents in image compression and information security and forensics. His research has been featured in NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, MIT Review, Wired.Com, BBC, among other media. Professor Memon has been a principal or co-investigator on numerous research and education grants exceeding $15 million. He and his academic colleagues are engaged in the addressing the most troubling cyber security issues confronting New York City, the nation and the world.