Institute Bringing in Expert Advisors to Provide Cybersecurity Solutions

AUBURN, Ala. – The McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, one of the nation’s leading institutes developing cybersecurity solutions for the public and private sectors, has announced it is adding a group of new advisors with subject matter expertise in cybercrime, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, ransomware, infrastructure resiliency, national security and other areas.

Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute, said the new senior fellows will advise him and the institute on solving policy, education, research and technology challenges faced by government and industry.

“The breadth and the depth of our new cohort of senior fellows is truly exceptional,” Cilluffo said. “In light of more sophisticated and growing cyber threats to our national and economic security, our new senior fellows will help us provide solutions across the public and private sectors. This group will be an incredible asset for both the McCrary Institute and Auburn University.”

There will be 27 new senior fellows. Fellows rotate and serve for three years. Past fellows include Harry Coker, the current National Cyber Director.

“This group has an unrivaled knowledge base with proven leadership across the cybersecurity field,” Cilluffo said. “I can’t wait to tap into their knowledge base to provide real answers to the many challenges we face.”

As well as providing their expertise to the institute, the senior fellows will participate in cybersecurity education through the institute’s digital platforms.

The McCrary Institute, founded in 2015 at Auburn University, concentrates on sound cybersecurity policy, cybersecurity education and applied research in cybersecurity. In 2022, there were 2,385 ransomware attacks reported to the FBI. More than one-third of those were attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure organizations.

For full biographies of the senior fellows, please go to: https://mccrary.auburn.edu/category/experts/senior-fellows/

The 2024 senior fellows for the McCrary Institute are:

• George C. Barnes – Red Cell Partners (former Deputy Director, NSA)
• Ben Bass – Universal Music Group (former Director of the National Computer Forensics Institute)
• David Bowdich – The Walt Disney Company (former Deputy Director, FBI)
• Stephen Boyd – Horizons Global Solutions (former Asst. Attorney General, DOJ)
• Thomas P. Bossert – Trinity Cyber (former Homeland Security Advisor)
• Cheri Caddy – Former Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director for Technology and Research
• Chris Cummiskey – Cummiskey Strategic Solutions (former Under Secretary for Management, DHS)
• Mike D’Ambrosio – Liberty Strategic Capital (former Assistant Director of Office of Investigations, U.S. Secret Service)
• Michael Daniel – Cyber Threat Alliance (former Cybersecurity Advisor, Executive Office of the President)
• Chuck Durant – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Bill Evanina – Evanina Group (former Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center)
• Ernie Ferraresso – Cyber Florida: The Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida
• Preston Golson – Brunswick Group
• Katherine Gronberg – NightDragon
• Michele Guido – Southern Company
• Brian Harrell – Avangrid (former Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, DHS)
• Melissa Hathaway – Hathaway Global Strategies LLC (former Cybersecurity Advisor, Executive Office of the President)
• Matt Hayden – General Dynamics Information Technology (former Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk, and Resilience, DHS)
• Andrew Howell – Monument Advocacy
• Daniel Kaniewski – Marsh McLennan (former Deputy Administrator for Resilience, FEMA)
• Brian Keeter – APCO Worldwide
• Steve Kelly – Institute for Security and Technology (former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, NSC [Cyber Directorate])
• Alison King – Forescout Tech Inc.
• Rob Knake – ActZero (former Deputy National Cyber Director for Strategy and Budget, ONCD)
• Bob Kolasky – Exiger (former Director of National Risk Management Center (NRMC), CISA)
• Kate Ledesma – Dragos Inc.
• Rick Ledgett – The Ledgett Group LLC (former Deputy Director, NSA)
• RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery – Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Christopher Porter – Google (Former National Intelligence Officer for Cyber, ODNI)
• George Salmoiraghi – U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Jordana Siegel – Amazon Web Services
• Kiran Sridhar – Resilience
• Mark Weatherford – Aspen Chartered Consulting (former Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity, DHS)
• Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg – Intelligence and National Security Alliance