DEF CON is a hacker convention held annually in Las Vegas,Nevada. The first DEF CON took place in June 1993 and today many attendees at DEF CON include computer security professionals,journalists,lawyers,federal government employees,security researchers,students,and hackers with a general interest in software,computer architecture,hardware modification,conference badges,and anything else that can be "hacked". The event consists of several tracks of speakers about computer- and hacking-related subjects,as well as cyber-security challenges and competitions. Contests held during the event are extremely varied and can range from creating the longest Wi-Fi connection to finding the most effective way to cool a beer in the Nevada heat.
Keith Brian Alexander is a retired four-star general of the United States Army,who served as director of the National Security Agency,chief of the Central Security Service,and commander of the United States Cyber Command. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff,G-2 (Intelligence),United States Army from 2003 to 2005. He assumed the positions of Director of the National Security Agency and Chief of the Central Security Service on August 1,2005,and the additional duties as Commander United States Cyber Command on May 21,2010.
Jeff Moss,also known as Dark Tangent,is an American hacker,computer and internet security expert who founded the Black Hat and DEF CON computer security conferences.
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations,strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities,and integrates and bolsters DoD's cyber expertise which focus on securing cyberspace.
A computer security conference is a convention for individuals involved in computer security. They generally serve as meeting places for system and network administrators,hackers,and computer security experts.
Cyberwarfare is the use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization,especially the deliberate attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes. As a major developed economy,the United States is highly dependent on the Internet and therefore greatly exposed to cyber attacks. At the same time,the United States has substantial capabilities in both defense and power projection thanks to comparatively advanced technology and a large military budget. Cyber warfare presents a growing threat to physical systems and infrastructures that are linked to the internet. Malicious hacking from domestic or foreign enemies remains a constant threat to the United States. In response to these growing threats,the United States has developed significant cyber capabilities.
The Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO),now Computer Network Operations,and structured as S32,is a cyber-warfare intelligence-gathering unit of the National Security Agency (NSA). It has been active since at least 1998,possibly 1997,but was not named or structured as TAO until "the last days of 2000," according to General Michael Hayden.
Khalil Sehnaoui is a Belgian-Lebanese information security consultant who specialises in the Middle-East and the founder and managing partner of Beirut-based Krypton Security. He is also a member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC),Europe's largest association of hackers. In 2021 Sehnaoui started an acting career by featuring in the TV mini series The Role and the TV series Al Hayba.
The Democratic National Committee cyber attacks took place in 2015 and 2016,in which two groups of Russian computer hackers infiltrated the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer network,leading to a data breach. Cybersecurity experts,as well as the U.S. government,determined that the cyberespionage was the work of Russian intelligence agencies.
Brigadier GeneralGregory (Greg) J. Touhill is Director of the world renowned Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute’s CERT Division. Previously,he was the president of AppGate Federal Group . He was previously appointed by President Barack Obama as the first Federal Chief Information Security Officer of the United States,stepping down in January,2017. He was previously the Deputy Assistant Secretary,Office of Cybersecurity and Communications,National Programs and Protection Directorate,Department of Homeland Security. While at DHS he concurrently served as Director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) during 2014–2015.
Thomas P. Bossert is an American lawyer and former Homeland Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump. He is an ABC News Homeland Security analyst.
Election cybersecurity or election security refers to the protection of elections and voting infrastructure from cyberattack or cyber threat –including the tampering with or infiltration of voting machines and equipment,election office networks and practices,and voter registration databases.
Alex Stamos is an American computer scientist and adjunct professor at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation. He is the former chief security officer (CSO) at Facebook. His planned departure from the company,following disagreement with other executives about how to address the Russian government's use of its platform to spread disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election,was reported in March 2018.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government,coordinating cybersecurity programs with U.S. states,and improving the government's cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers.
Jacob H. Braun is an American politician,cyber and national security expert. He was appointed by President Joseph Biden as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary's Senior Advisor to the Management Directorate. Braun is also a lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies where he teaches courses on cyber policy and election security. He previously served as the Executive Director for the University of Chicago Harris Cyber Policy Initiative (CPI).
Christopher Cox Krebs is an American attorney who served as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the United States Department of Homeland Security from November 2018 until November 17,2020,when President Donald Trump fired Krebs for contradicting Trump's claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Anne Neuberger is an American national security official who serves as the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology in the Biden administration. Prior to this role,she served for over a decade at the NSA,as director of cybersecurity,as assistant deputy director of operations,and as the agency's first chief risk officer. She joined the federal government as a White House fellow,working at the Pentagon,and subsequently served as deputy chief management officer of the Navy,before joining NSA. Before entering government service,Neuberger was senior vice president of operations at American Stock Transfer &Trust Company.
Jack Cable is an American computer security researcher and software developer. He is best known for his participation in bug bounty programs,including placing first in the U.S. Department of Defense's Hack the Air Force challenge. Cable began working for the Pentagon's Defense Digital Service in the summer of 2018.
In 2020,a major cyberattack suspected to have been committed by a group backed by the Russian government penetrated thousands of organizations globally including multiple parts of the United States federal government,leading to a series of data breaches. The cyberattack and data breach were reported to be among the worst cyber-espionage incidents ever suffered by the U.S.,due to the sensitivity and high profile of the targets and the long duration in which the hackers had access. Within days of its discovery,at least 200 organizations around the world had been reported to be affected by the attack,and some of these may also have suffered data breaches. Affected organizations worldwide included NATO,the U.K. government,the European Parliament,Microsoft and others.
Jen Easterly is an American intelligence and former military official who is serving as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration. She was confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate on July 12,2021.
