Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) cybersecurity researcher Trevor Lewis, Ph.D., has been appointed to the state board that helps safeguard Georgia’s evolving 911 infrastructure. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Lewis to serve on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA). Lewis will serve as the board’s cybersecurity subject-matter expert, a position recently created as Georgia expands and modernizes its emergency communications capabilities.

Lewis, a principal research scientist in GTRI’s Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research Laboratory (CIPHER), has had a wide-ranging career spanning law enforcement, information technology, and advanced cybersecurity research.

Lewis was sworn in at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 8. At the ceremony, held in Gov. Brian Kemp's office, Lewis was joined by a large contingent of family members.

Lewis was sworn in by Kemp. With his hand raised, he "solemnly" swore to "discharge and perform all the duties required of a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, according to the best of my ability and understanding."

The appointment comes as emergency communications systems increasingly depend on interconnected digital networks, making cybersecurity an integral part of public safety. Georgia law now requires the governor to appoint a cybersecurity subject-matter expert to serve on GECA’s board. House Bill 423, which passed in May 2025, established this requirement and expanded GECA’s responsibilities for developing and implementing Next Generation 911, or NG911, across Georgia.

NG911 represents a significant technological evolution from traditional 911 systems. Georgia law defines it as an Internet Protocol-based system designed to be secure, resilient, redundant, and interoperable. In addition to voice calls, NG911 infrastructure supports other forms of emergency communications and associated data.

That increased capability also creates a larger and more complex digital environment that must be protected from an increasingly broad cybersecurity threat landscape.

The 2025 legislation also directs GECA to establish and operate a network management center in coordination with cybersecurity subject-matter experts to protect the ESInet, core services, and public safety answering points. The authority is also responsible for monitoring network performance and coordinating technical standards intended to create an interconnected and interoperable statewide system.

Lewis brings experience to that mission from both sides of the cybersecurity “battlefield.”

His research at GTRI encompasses offensive and defensive cybersecurity topics, including penetration testing, red teaming, cyber threat emulation, defensive cyberspace operations, and threat hunting, among many others. His work frequently involves approaching systems from an adversary’s perspective to identify weaknesses before a malicious actor can exploit them.

“At GTRI, our team frequently collaborates with government and commercial organizations to simulate cyber-attacker techniques, identify system vulnerabilities, and design strategies to bolster defenses against real threats,” Lewis said in an interview.

Lewis has applied those skills to critical infrastructure and national security challenges. His GTRI work has included cybersecurity research involving electric power systems and other operational technology environments. In one Georgia Tech research effort, Lewis and other GTRI red-team researchers tested the security of electric utility technology by attempting the types of malicious actions a real-world attacker might use. He has also researched ways to detect abnormal cyber activity within electric power systems.

More recently, Lewis has contributed to Georgia Tech research designed to help hospitals identify, track, and mitigate vulnerabilities in network-connected medical devices, another environment in which cybersecurity failures can have consequences extending well beyond information technology systems.

That background is particularly relevant as 911 systems become more interconnected and can carry increasingly diverse forms of digital information.

Lewis also brings prior law enforcement experience to the appointment, giving him a perspective that bridges cybersecurity technology and the operational realities of public safety. Before joining GTRI, Lewis served in law enforcement and later worked in network and security engineering before moving into advanced cybersecurity research.

For Lewis, effective cybersecurity requires understanding not only how systems are intended to work, but how an adversary might attempt to make them fail.

“To excel in cybersecurity, one must master the art of thinking like an adversary,” Lewis said. “Regardless of your chosen cybersecurity specialization, you must constantly challenge assumptions by asking, ‘How can X be broken?’ This mindset uncovers hidden flaws before malicious actors can exploit them.”

Lewis said his work has been particularly meaningful when it helps protect systems whose reliability has real-world consequences. This vital work ties into the tenets of GTRI’s mission to:

• Improve the human condition. 
• Enhance State of Georgia economic development.
• Serve national security.

“The greatest fulfillment comes from realizing my contributions to enhancing the security of power grids, critical infrastructure, and national defense systems against genuine cyber threats,” he said.

His new role with GECA extends that mission to another form of critical infrastructure: the communications systems Georgians rely on when they need help most.