Please join the WashU Defense, Aerospace, and National Security (DANS) Network for a networking reception followed by a faculty presentation - Cybersecurity: A Strategic Look and Lessons from the Battlespace, by Joe Scherrer, Director of the Cybersecurity Strategic Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis.
About the presentation - Cybersecurity: A Strategic Look and Lessons from the Battlespace
Just as in war, staying in front of the cybersecurity challenge requires a strategy that sets the stage for meeting—and beating—the cyber threat. Toward this end, the time-tested strategic lessons we can learn from warfare can help. In particular, Air Force fighter pilot John Boyd’s Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop concept provides an excellent framework upon which to base a “war-winning” cybersecurity strategy. Using Boyd’s OODA loop and illustrative lessons from military history, this presentation presents a fresh approach to cyberspace strategy, one that engages directly with the nature of the cyberspace domain and proposes to stretch the boundaries of traditional strategic thought when it comes to cybersecurity. The talk will also address the strategic initiatives underway at Washington University to produce the desperately needed talent and research for corporate and government organizations.
About the speaker
Joe Scherrer is Director of the Cybersecurity Strategic Initiative at Washington University where he also serves as program director of Graduate Studies in Information Systems Management and Cybersecurity Management. Following a distinguished 24-year career as a leader and information technology and cybersecurity innovator with the US Air Force, culminating as the commander of the Air Force’s only combat coded deployable communications wing, Scherrer retired as a Colonel and returned to his home town of St. Louis. At Washington University, he leads the School of Engineering & Applied Science effort to grow its capacity for and prominence in cybersecurity education and research. A signature product of this initiative is the launch in fall 2018 of a master’s program in cybersecurity engineering that will equip graduates with the expertise to design, engineer and assess cybersecurity software, applications and technology. Scherrer is the author of The Leadership Forge: 50 Fire-Tested Insights to Solve Your Toughest Problems, Care for Your People, and Get Great Results. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Washington University, an MBA from Boston University, and master’s degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Naval War College, and Air War College.
Host Committee
Jim Wrightson, MBA ’78, Co-Chair WashU DANS Network, former Vice President, Strategic Planning at Lockheed Martin Corporation
Todd Carrico, BS ’91, ScD ’93, Founder & CEO, Cougaar Software
Tim Fain, WashU Parent, Senior Project Manager, Unisys Corporation
Eric Heist, BS ’91, MBA ’92, Colonel, US Army
Erin Humphries, AB ’13, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
David Rubenstein, AB ’79
Bernita Washington Tardieu, JD ’11, Director, Legal and Contracts, Sodexo, Inc.
Richard Zelkowitz, JD ’80, VP, IDIQ Programs, BAE Systems