Center of Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience Launch Event

On November 8th, George Mason University proudly inaugurated the Cyber Resilience Center, officially the Center of Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience. This new Center has positioned itself as a strategic partner, playing a pivotal role in advancing federal government cybersecurity initiatives and fostering IT modernization efforts.

The launch event witnessed the committed support and forward-looking perspectives of key figures from George Mason University. President Gregory Washington, Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact Andre Marshall, Dean of the College of Engineering Ken Ball, and Dean of the School of Business Ajay Vinze all contributed their insights to shape the future trajectory of the new Center. The event also brought together cybersecurity leaders and practitioners from prominent government, industry, and our community, including the Government Accountability Office, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Fairfax County Public Schools, the ACM US Technology Policy Committee, IBM, CGI, aiLeaders LLC, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, and more. Presentations and panel discussions covered a broad range of topics from IT modernization and artificial intelligence to workforce development. Around 100 participants took part in various sessions of the event.

Featured speakers included:

Jennifer Franks (Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity, Government Accountability Office),
Alan Shark (Associate Professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government and Executive Director of the Public Technology Institute)
Mark Rasch (Of Counsel at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP),
Eric Osterweil, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Director of the Measurable Security Lab (MSL),
Massimiliano Albanese (Associate Professor & Associate Chair for Research, Dept. of Information Sciences and Technology; Associate Director, Center for Secure Information Systems),
Michael Watson, Chief Information Security Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia at Virginia Information Technologies Agency),
Liza Durant (Director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative’s (CCI), Northern Virginia Node, Associate Provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement and Professor and Associate Dean at the College of Engineering and Computing),
Giuseppe Atteniese (Professor and Eminent Scholar in Cyber Security Engineering),
Gerald Matthews (Professor of Psychology),
Daniel Barbara (Professor of Computer Science),
Larry Medsker, Chair of ACM US Technology Policy Committee
Jeff Crume, Distinguished Engineer, CTO IBM Security Americas, Cyber Security Architect
V. J. Rao, Chief Information Security Officer for FFX Public Schools
Paulo Costa (Chair of the Department of Cyber Security Engineering; Director of the C4I & Cyber Center)

The Cyber Resilience Center has outlined comprehensive long-term and short-term objectives, with a focus on three key strategic priorities:

Translation of Cutting-Edge Research: The Center aims to translate state-of-the-art research on technology modernization and cybersecurity into actionable practices within federal agencies.
Collation and Dissemination of Best Practices: One of its missions is to collect and disseminate best practices for cybersecurity across federal government agencies.
Enhancing U.S. Government Cybersecurity Capacity: The Center is committed to promoting the enhancement of organizational capacity in U.S. government cybersecurity.

This groundbreaking initiative, the Mason Center of Excellence in Government Cybersecurity Risk Management and Resilience, was made possible by $1 million in federal funding allocated through the 2023 federal omnibus appropriations bill. Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) championed this allocation to address critical cybersecurity workforce needs.

Jointly led by Dr. Amarda Shehu and Dr. J.P. Auffret, the Center leverages the existing research and educational capabilities in cybersecurity at Mason, particularly within the College of Engineering and Computing and the Costello College of Business.

Looking ahead, the Center is set to host its inaugural online workshop on AI leadership and governance in response to the new White House Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. The workshop is scheduled for December 15th, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm Eastern Time, with more details forthcoming.

To stay informed and connected, we invite you to follow the Center’s updates on its LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gmu-crc/. Your engagement and support are integral to the success of this endeavor.

View the entire event brochure (including agenda) here

Event picture gallery slider below. Speaker presentations follow.

PRESENTATIONS