Presented at
DEF CON 31 (2023),
Aug. 12, 2023, 4:30 p.m.
(45 minutes)
Just like there's more than one way to peel a banana, there’s more than one way to protect a computer network from being pwned. Cyber threats against America’s pipelines, railroads and aviation system are increasing, and the Transportation Security Administration – with support from the White House, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Congress – is hacking traditional cybersecurity policy to improve resiliency for the growing connected transportation sector. How? TSA isn’t telling regulated parties exactly the ways they should secure their own systems. Instead, the agency is asking them to produce and provide plans for ensuring they protect their critical assets.
America’s adversaries are sophisticated, and TSA needs help from the hacking community to think creatively about future attacks, to identify new vulnerabilities, and to provide innovative new ways of measuring success. This talk will tell you what TSA is seeing, gives you a chance to offer us advice, and to learn specific ways in which you can contribute to new projects. Because always in motion the future is.
Presenters:
-
Jen Easterly
- Director at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Jen Easterly is the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She was nominated by President Biden in April 2021 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on July 12, 2021. As Director, Jen leads CISA’s efforts to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every day. She is a proud Mom, a mental health advocate, a Rubik’s Cube enthusiast, and an aspiring electric guitarist.
Before serving in her current role, Jen was the head of Firm Resilience at Morgan Stanley, responsible for ensuring preparedness and response to business-disrupting operational incidents and risks to the Firm. She also helped build and served as the first Global Head of Morgan Stanley’s Cybersecurity Fusion Center, the Firm’s center of gravity for cyber defense operations.
Jen has a long tradition of public service, to include two tours at the White House, most recently as Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Counterterrorism and earlier as Executive Assistant to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. She also served as the Deputy for Counterterrorism at the National Security Agency.
A two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, Jen retired from the U.S. Army after more than twenty years of service in intelligence and cyber operations, including tours of duty in Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Responsible for standing up the Army’s first cyber battalion, she was also instrumental in the design and creation of United States Cyber Command.
A distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Jen holds a
master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 2023 Sisterhood Award from Girls Who Code; the 2022 National Defense University Admiral Grace Hopper Award; the 2021 Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity Person of the Year Award; the 2020 Bradley W. Snyder Changing the Narrative Award, and the 2018 James W. Foley Legacy Foundation American Hostage Freedom Award.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a French American Foundation Young Leader, Jen is the past recipient of the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship, the National Security Institute Visiting Fellowship, the New America Foundation Senior International Security Fellowship, the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and the Director, National Security Agency Fellowship.
-
Kevin Collier
- NBC
-
David Pekoske
- Administrator at Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
David Pekoske was first confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Transportation Security Administration’s seventh administrator in August 2017 and was reconfirmed for a second term in September 2022.
Pekoske leads a workforce of over 60,000 employees and is responsible for security operations at nearly 440 airports throughout the United States. TSA is also the lead federal agency for security of highways, railroads, mass transit systems and pipelines. Under his leadership, TSA improved transportation security through close partnerships and alliances, a culture of innovation, and development of a dedicated workforce.
During his tenure as TSA Administrator, Pekoske also served at the Department of Homeland Security as Acting Secretary from January 20 to February 2, 2021, and as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary from April to November 2019, and again from February to June 2021. At the Department, Pekoske helped lead a unified national effort to ensure the continued security of the United States, coordinating components with missions ranging from prevention and protection to recovery and response. He was also a commissioner on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission that developed a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against attacks of significant consequence.
Before joining TSA, Pekoske was an executive in the government services industry, where he led teams that provided counterterrorism, security and intelligence support services to government agencies.
Pekoske served as the 26th Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, culminating a Coast Guard career that included extensive operational and command experience. As the Vice Commandant, Pekoske was second in command, also serving as Chief Operating Officer and Component Acquisition Executive of the Coast Guard. He is a recognized expert in crisis management, strategic planning, innovation, and aviation, surface transportation and maritime security. In addition, he has been twice awarded the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal.
Pekoske holds a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Links:
Similar Presentations: