Influential leaders in the expanding cybersecurity industry came to campus this spring for a yearly seminar series that’s passing along insight to students, faculty, and staff on the latest challenges in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

In conjunction with a new minor in cybersecurity, this seminar series is part of a new cybersecurity program that’s providing students access to computer security skills outside of the normal computer science and software engineering program.

On-campus presentations for this spring’s Cybersecurity Seminar Series included:

• “AI In Mission Critical Situations: Insights from Supply Chain Attacks,” by Nathan Jenniges, senior vice president and general manager with BlackBerry. He is a 1998 electrical engineering Rose-Hulman graduate.
• “Don’t Be Fooled – Your Business Depends on It,” by Caleb Tennis, chief information security officer with Sequoia Capital. He is a 2001 electrical engineering alum.
• “Towards a Secure and Privacy – Respective Web,” by Christoph Kerschbaumer, security engineering manager with Mozilla.
• “Social, Linguistic, and Organizational Analyses of Russian eCrime Forums,” by Dalya Manatova, a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. She specializes in cybercriminals and social dynamics of outlawed communities.
• An upcoming talk about privacy in AI chatbots by Jen Caltrider, head of Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included

The cybersecurity program is led by Sid Stamm, PhD, associate professor of computer science and software engineering. The program also includes a Cybersecurity Club that has students participating in cybersecurity training and competition events throughout the Midwest.

Several alumni have recently put their cybersecurity knowledge to work at well-known companies such as Microsoft, Meta, Google, Airbnb, and Salesforce. They also work for government contractors like Northrop Grumman and Caesar Creek, government agencies that support the defense industry, and companies such as ProofPoint that provide contracted cybersecurity support.

Learn more about the cybersecurity program at www.rose-hulman.edu/cybersecurity.