SANS 2024: Keynote - Ask the Experts: How to Grow Your Success in Cybersecurity
Learn and hear stories from a mixture of our top GSE experts, security leaders, and cyber talent managers on how you can apply their experiences and career journey to maximize your own success. Learn tips and tricks that focus on:
• Best Practices in Being Successful in the Cybersecurity Industry
• How to Maximize Your Learning & Certification in the Marketplace
• How to Grow as Your Career Progresses
• Trends in Cybersecurity
Ask the experts with a focus on how we can improve your professional development with a lively discussion with panel members who are top of their field in both technical and managerial including security leaders and some of the folks who have gone through the grueling process of receiving the GSE which is the hardest certification in all of cybersecurity.
Panel Members: Ed Skoudis, SANS Fellow Instructor, Dr. TJ O'Connor, Matthew Swenson
Dr. TJ O'Connor was awarded the GSE in 2011 while serving as a faculty member at the US Military Academy. He served a 20-year Army career, retiring in 2019 as a Lieutenant Colonel. His service included four assignments supporting the Special Forces from the tactical level in Afghanistan and culminated as the Chief Information Officer for the 1st Special Forces Command Headquarters. After retiring from the Army, Dr.O'Connor returned to his passion for education and created a hands-on, practice-based cyber operations concentration at Florida Tech. He led Florida Tech's cybersecurity team to two national titles at the National Cyber League. He coached the US Cyber Games Team to a third-place finish at the International Cyber Competition. He is invested in the next generous and believes strongly that hands-on practice-based education and competition are the way ahead, volunteering his time to create numerous capture-the-flag and cyber-defense competitions. His work has been praised multiple times in the congressional record.
Matthew Swenson is the Chief Executive Officer – North America for BlackRainbow Inc. As CEO – North America, Mr. Swenson oversees the development, management, and success of the company’s North American organization. Before serving at BlackRainbow, Mr. Swenson was the Senior Vice President for Investigations at Cadien Cyber Response, where he led a team of investigators responsible for responding to cyber incidents and conducting data breach investigations and analysis. Mr. Swenson currently sits on the advisory boards for Flashpoint National Security Services and the cryptocurrency intelligence company Merkle Science. Before his tenure in the private sector, Mr. Swenson served as the Division Chief at the Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crimes Center (C3) in Fairfax, VA. At C3, he oversaw all daily operations for all cybercrime investigations, digital forensics, cyber threat intelligence, and internet technology support. Mr. Swenson also served in various roles, including Section Chief over the Network Intrusion Section, Section Chief over Digital Forensics Operations, and as a special agent in the Los Angeles and Seattle Field offices. Mr. Swenson also served as the Resident Agent in Charge for the NASA OIG Cyber Crimes Division, overseeing a team working on cybercrime and incident response investigations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Mr. Swenson has 20 years of federal law enforcement experience focusing on digital forensics, cybercrime, and incident response. Mr. Swenson holds a Masters of Science Degree in Information Security Engineering from the SANS Technology Institute and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science (Pre-law) with a minor in Criminal Justice from Washington State University.
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