Discussion on why ransom hacks are on the rise as the panelists explored the topic with a focus on the disruptive business impact of cyber breaches, particularly based on recent Colonial and DC MPD hacks.
The aim of the talk is to create awareness about cybercrime prevention strategies, research and policies, and suggest practical directions for improving defenses and mitigating ransomware attacks.
Date: June 8, 2021
Time: 12:00 pm EDT-1:00 pm EDT
Dr. Costis Toregas and Dr. Arkady Yerukhimovich led the discussion, which was moderated by Dr. Hurriyet Aydin Ok.
BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Costis Toregas is the Director of the Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute at The George Washington University, where he manages and conducts research projects in cybersecurity. His research interests include workforce development, the role of insurance in cyber risk management, and exploring a fuller utilization of Community Colleges in the cybersecurity work force strategies. He is a Senior Advisor & Director, Scholarship for Service (SFS) Four-Year to the National CyberWatch Center. He is a respected consultant to national governments and intergovernmental organizations, and a much sought-after speaker on the impact of technology in government and society. Dr. Toregas has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Cornell University.
Dr. Arkady Yerukhimovich is an Assistant Professor at GW SEAS Department of Computer Science. Professor Yerukhimovich’s research aims to looks into ways to enable collaboration between distrusting parties. From sharing and searching over private data, to computing joint results over inputs provided by multiple parties, he aims to build provably-secure protocols to enable these tasks to be done while preserving privacy. He is interested both in the foundational questions of what is possible at all and based on what cryptographic assumption as well as the application-motivated goals of making this technology practical for real-world applications.
Dr. Hurriyet Aydin Ok is a senior research fellow at GWU Cyber Security & Privacy Research Institute (CSPRI) and teaches courses in E-Commerce Security and Augmented and Virtual Reality. Prior to GWU, he contributed in the areas of infrastructure security and risk reviews, enterprise directory and authentication strategy, cybersecurity awareness, and developing technology strategy, as a direct report to the CTO and a member of the IT leadership team for over 24 years at the World Bank. Dr. Ok is the Founder of VRT-U, LLC, a startup technology venture focusing on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and 360° Video for creating immersive learning content. Hurriyet was a software engineer at Alcatel-Rovsing in Copenhagen, Denmark, developing software for American Airlines Data Network. Dr. Ok holds a D.Sc. Degree in Computer Science from the GWU, and M.S. and B.S. Degrees in Computer Science from Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
The intent of this and future Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute (CSPRI) webinars is to give GW faculty and students glimpses of the vibrant security and privacy private sector in the Washington region and to promote dialog and debate regarding breakthrough initiatives. The potential for support for research or conference papers on related topics will be part of the discussion.