Meet academic and industry leaders for intimate discussions about new cyber threats, trends and technologies. 

The weekly Cybersecurity Lecture Series is a free, open-to-the-public lecture from a thought leader who is advancing the field of information security and privacy. Invited speakers include executives and researchers from private companies, government agencies, start-up incubators as well as Georgia Tech faculty and students presenting their research.

Held weekly each Friday at Noon through Dec. 2, lectures are open to all -- students, faculty, industry, government, or simply the curious. Students may register for credit under seminar course CS-8001-INF.

Complimentary lunch provided for registered guests. Please bring your own beverage.

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Featuring Jeff Reava on Nov. 11

"Leveraging Information Symmetry and Asymmetry for Effective Cyber Defense"

 
ABSTRACT   |    Effective cyber defense requires security controls that raise the cost to attackers beyond their ability or willingness to overcome. In theory, this is accomplished through a defense in depth approach using independent layers of protection that maximize attacker cost regardless of how they approach their target. In practice, most organizations lack the funding, staff and time to implement all the layers of control that they want. Instead, most organizations implement controls strategically, and attempt to conceal their defensive posture in order to raise the effort level required to compromise an environment. A concealment-oriented approach is difficult to fully implement in practice, and misses some of the strategic value of disclosing certain forms of controls. This talk will examine the value of sharing some elements of security posture, while concealing other controls to enable an organization to optimize its cyber defense effectiveness.

BIO   |   Jeff Reava, CISSP, CISM, CISA, is director of Information Security Operations, and has responsibility for identity management, security monitoring, and incident response for Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Since joining in June of 2015, Jeff has built and lead teams that provide 24-hour security monitoring and response operations, automate identity and access provisioning, and implement a set of capabilities to detect and disrupt malicious activity across the environment. Prior to Jackson, Jeff spent five years at Farmers Insurance integrating security capabilities into technical and business processes, standing up a new security operations hub, and leading identity management and technology operations teams. He also held a number of roles at Pfizer, addressing privacy incidents and leading forensic investigations while driving remediation of security issues across multiple global teams.
 
Jeff holds a B.A. in Public Administration from Michigan State University, and an M.B.A. from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.
 
Outside of work, Jeff founded a competitive policy debate team at a local high school, and mentors and teaches high school kids in his spare time. Jeff is married with three daughters, ages 19, 16 and 10.

Supported by Jackson National Life Insurance Company