I was honored to present in #Dubai at #gisec2021 at the Main Stage (Sheikh Saeed Hall). My presentation analyzed the critical components of American cyber operations, focusing on defensive and offensive strategies.
I covered the topic of forward-deployed cyber ops in grey space where national defense cyber policies can be rendered ineffective, where new American cyber ops paradigms are molding the way conflict in cyberspace is being shaped.
I would like to thank Welma Williams and her incredible team for organizing the largest and most impactful cybersecurity event in the Arab world!
Proud to have presented at #gisec2021 in Dubai and for exploring the beautiful Dubai. I had a super productive time while in the UAE. I hope to see more CSFI efforts in the Arabian region.
🗣 Honored to have presented at #rsac2021 this year! Presentation Topic: Cyber Workforce Development: Experience, Education, and Certification.
🇺🇸 Opportunities are a tangible way to measure a nation’s economic health and democratic values. The very definition of freedom is deeply tied to opportunities.
I would like to welcome our most recent #CSFI Cyber Security Forum Initiative Advisory Board Director, Former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, Jr. (Ret.).Â
Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Jr. retired from the U.S. Army November 2020 after over 36 years of activity duty service as an intelligence officer. He assumed his last duty position on 3 October 2017 when he became the 21st Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He formerly served as the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, where he was the senior advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff for all aspects of intelligence, counterintelligence and security. He has commanded at the company, battalion, squadron, and brigade levels with six combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a squadron, brigade commander, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (J-2). Other key assignments include the Director of Intelligence, United States Army Joint Special Operations Command; the Director of Intelligence, United States Central Command; the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, International Security Assistance Force and Director of Intelligence, United States Forces, Afghanistan; and Commanding General and Commandant United States Army Intelligence Center and School Fort Huachuca, AZ. Lieutenant General Ashley has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Appalachian State University, a master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University (formerly known as the Defense Intelligence College) and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. Lieutenant General Ashley is the CEO of Ashley Global Leadership and Security (LLC), and a Principal at Deep Water Point.
The particular focus in the year 2011 in Tallin was on generating cyber forces. It was the 3rd International Conference on Cyber Conflict to Analyse the Nature of Cyber Forces.
CSFI is proud to announce our CSFI Romanian team as well as our new office in Romania. We have an incredible and diverse team of cyber professionals working to support our CSFI’s mission and enhance the cyber efforts and cooperation between the United States and Romania. The CSFI office in Timisoara, Romania, will be hosted by Alex Andrei, our CSFI training representative. We are incredibly grateful for this outstanding achievement, and we look forward to a fruitful collaboration. Suntem mândri să anunțăm prezența CSFI în România și să lucrăm cu astfel de profesioniști în domeniul securității cibernetice.
Cynthia Strand Former Senior Program Advisor and Former Deputy Director, Office of the Chief Scientist at the CIA. Senior Fellow at In-Q-Tel CSFI Advisory Director
Cynthia has served in the Directorate of Science and Technology at the #CIA for 33 years, working on a broad range of activities – from tech development, to analysis, to operations. Cynthia is a Senior Fellow at In-Q-Tel.
She held many critical roles within the CIA, including the following to name a few: Senior Program Advisor, Deputy Assistant Director for Global Issues, Director/Deputy Director for Integrated Missions, Director for the George Methlie School for Technical Intelligence Officers, Deputy Director for the Office of the Chief Scientist, Deputy Director for the Systems Engineering and Analysis Office, and Analyst and Manager in Directorate of Science and Technology. What an honor to have Cynthia as part of our prestigious Cyber Security Forum Initiative advisory board!
Cynthia Strand is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award. Thank you for your incredible service Cynthia!
Today I had the pleasure of meeting Josh Cohen from the Israel Trade & Economic Mission in Washington, D.C. who presented me with a letter of appreciation from the Mission Director Yifat Alon Perel. Josh covers cybersecurity for the Israeli Economic Mission, and #CSFI works closely with him to promote Israeli cyber startups in the U.S. market. CSFI remains a steadfast supporter of Israel. Along with the mission and our partners at the Cyber Bytes Foundation, we plan a robust series of Israeli cyber-focused events in 2021. This builds on our work together in 2020, which included a live (socially distanced) panel in October focused on combating cyber-enabled disinformation campaigns in which three Israeli cyber companies participated. In addition to panels and B2B networking events, CSFI also looks forward to participating in the post-COVID delegation to Israel the Israeli Economic Mission is planning for U.S. cyber professionals. There’s great pent-up demand among American cyber professionals to visit Israel to learn about the latest cutting edge cyber technologies being developed there, and I encourage anyone interested to learn more about the Israeli Economic Mission’s planned cyber agenda for 2021 to reach out to Josh.
Welcome our new Cyber Security Forum Initiative #CSFI Fellow (Cyber Threat Intelligence), Alex Keedy! Alex will help shape and influence CSFI’s #CTI related activities through volunteering and collaborative efforts in the CSFI community.
Alex Keedy is a cyber threat intelligence specialist currently focusing on financially-motivated cybercriminal activity in her position managing Fortune 500 clients at Intel 471. She previously briefed C-suite clients from Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 organizations during her time working for a managed service provider at Deloitte. Her responsibilities included profiling underground forum threat actors, tracking Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, and delivering strategic briefs on relevant cyber threats. Her previous cyber experience includes leading the cyber threat intelligence operations for a global pharmaceutical company during her two years working at Booz Allen Hamilton. She achieved her first Master’s degree in international relations with a focus in intelligence studies and is currently at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School as an MBA candidate. She additionally interned at the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, where she analyzed domestic cyber threats and served as a public liaison.
CSFI Staff from left to right: Leah Skowron, CSFI Administrative Officer (National Security and Intelligence) Paul de Souza, CSFI Founder, and Christine de Souza, CSFI Director. Great turn out for the ELECTION SECURITY PANEL EVENT hosted at the Cyber Bytes Foundation.
Incredible CSFI Team! Pete Schiefelbein, Anthony Guess-Johnson, Christine de Souza, Paul de Souza, and Leah Skowron
I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to manage and run one of the biggest and most active forums on the Internet dealing with cyber warfare and cyber security – CSFI (The Cyber Security Forum Initiative). With over 16 years of cyber security experience, I continue to actively raise Cyber Warfare/Cyber Security awareness worldwide. I have worked as a Chief Security Engineer for AT&T, where I designed and approved secure networks for MSS. I have also consulted for several governments, military and private institutions on best network security practices throughout my career.
CSFI and its divisions CSFI-CWD (Cyber Warfare Division), CSFI-LPD (Law and Policy Division) and CSFI-WD (Wireless Division) continue to grow and expand with more than 60,000 information security members.
One of my personal goals is to serve our security community to the best of my abilities, in the protection and defense of our American national security interests, the American people, and that of our international partners. I am always ready to serve and to give of my time and skills to help our society with the growing problems we experience in cyberspace. I thank God and my family for the opportunities I have had in life and the most precious of all opportunities, which is the chance to serve others. I love what I do, and I appreciate all the support I have received from friends, family and our CSFI members.
