October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Theme: Go Slow
Teach the importance of taking your time when reading emails and browsing online.

Speaker: Special Agent Steven Lupo, FBI
Topic: Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks
Date/Time: October 4, 2:00 pm
Bio: Former police officer and detective, who has been a Special Agent with the FBI for 18 years. He is currently assigned to the FBI Houston Cyber Task Force, investigating cyber intrusions from foreign government adversaries. He is also a member of the Houston Division SWAT team and a firearms instructor.

Accommodations: To request disability-related accommodations, please contact eirac@tamucc.edu or call 361-825-3154.

Theme: Be suspicious
The Road to Cyber Security is lined with signs that indicate whether an email or web page is safe or a security threat.

Speaker: Michael Rothschild, Sr. Director, OT Solutions, Tenable
Topic: Ransomware - Attack Team Vectors (Technical Discussion)
Date/Time: October 12, 2:00 pm
Bio: Michael Rothschild is senior director of operational technology (OT) solutions who comes to Tenable by way of the Indegy acquisition. He focuses on Tenable's OT product line, is an advisory board member at Rutgers University and is a past professor of marketing. He also has a number of published works in marketing and healthcare. In his spare time Rothschild is a first aid instructor and volunteers as an EMT.

Speaker: Minister of Magic Jesse Trucks, Splunk
Topic: Ransomware
Date/Time: October 14, 1:30 pm
Bio: Jesse Trucks has worked in IT and Security operations for over twenty (20) years. In that time, he has worked for the US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), D. E. Shaw Research (DESRES) supporting HPC clusters and supercomputers, and at multiple telecoms and managed service providers. Trucks has extensive experience in designing and implementing risk mitigation and security programs, compliance auditing processes and systems, and defensive security operations. He has developed multiple bespoke monitoring and automation systems, and he has implemented a multitude of commercial monitoring, SIEM, and automation systems. Trucks has worked for Splunk for over six years as a security specialist and advisor to customers across the globe, with a focus on working with American public sector organizations since early 2019. In addition, he has served as a director on several non-profit boards since 2007. Jesse currently sits as President for ETSA, a small professional association, and he is a co-founder, President, and Principal of a small elementary school. He resides in Knoxville, TN, where he adores family life, roasting coffee, raising poodles, and amateur radio (callsign N9MOM).

Accommodations: To request disability-related accommodations, please contact eirac@tamucc.edu or call 361-825-3154.

Theme: Report & follow the policies
It takes small precautions from each of us, every day, to keep ourselves and the University secure.

Speaker: Senior Security & Compliance Technical Specialist Nick Caromano, Microsoft US Education Team
Topic: Social Engineering and Multi-factor Authentication
Date/Time: October 20, 11:30 am
Bio: Nick Caromano has been in the IT industry for well over 14 years ranging from Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB) to Enterprise, sprinkling in some State and local government, and now living in the world of Education for the last two (2) years. With a passion for security, he has the honor of helping customers learn the "art of the possible" with Microsoft Security solutions. Nick is currently the Senior Security & Compliance Technical Specialist for the South Central region of the US Microsoft Education team and works with K-12, Higher Education, and Department of Education (DoE)’s alike.

Speaker: Steven Pryor, CISO, TxDOT
Topic: Cybersecurity Challenges Facing Texas Transportation
Date/Time: October 21, 1:00 pm
Bio: Steven Pryor is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) where he leads a team working to protect the critical transportation infrastructure of Texas.  A long time Texas resident, Steven spent has spent the past 15 years serving in various cybersecurity roles in both federal and state government, working for agencies ranging from the Department of Defense, Department of State, Texas Health and Human Services, and TxDOT. 

Accommodations: To request disability-related accommodations, please contact eirac@tamucc.edu or call 361-825-3154.

Theme: Verify messages
Cybercriminals like to send mixed signals. They may impersonate your boss or the President of the University and make odd requests to wire money, purchase gift cards or share sensitive information.

Speaker: Associate Director of Planning and Coordinating Divisions Mara Winn, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Topic: Supply Chain Attacks
Date/Time: October 25, 12:30 pm
Bio: Mara E. B. Winn is the Associate Director for Planning and Coordination at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) National Risk Management Center (NRMC). Mara has more than twenty years of experience in all stages of acquisition management, systems engineering, project management, and product development life cycles from analysis through implementation and closeout. She oversees planning and collaboration activities within the NRMC focused on addressing the Nation's highest priority critical infrastructure risks, originating from cyber-attacks and other hazards. The NRMC serves as the end-to-end integrator of risk management activities for National Critical Functions, and leverages that risk expertise to support overall execution of the CISA mission.

Speaker: LCDR Elizabeth Norrell, Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC)
Topic: The Anatomy of a Cyber Intrusion
Date/Time: October 27, 1:30 pm
Bio: Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Norrell is a native of Woodland Park, CO. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Economics with a minor in Italian. She commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in May 2011.
After commissioning, LCDR Norrell reported to the USS MCCAMPBELL (DDG 85) in Yokosuka, Japan in June 2011 where she served as the Electrical Officer and Communications Officer. In February 2014 LCDR Norrell reported to Destroyer Squadron 9 (CDS 9) located in Everett, Washington. During her time at CDS 9, LCDR Norrell served as the Assistant Operations Officer and was assigned as the Officer in Charge for the staffs Pacific Partnership 2015 Mission in Fiji.
In August 2015, LCDR Norrell reported to the Center for Information Dominance, Corry Station, for Information Warfare Basic Course before reporting to NIOC Maryland in Fort Meade. While at Fort Meade, LCDR Norrell served as a cyber and space planner in Integrated Warfighter and Cyber Support.
In March 2018, LCDR Norrell transferred to Naval Postgraduate School where she earned her Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Upon completion of her degree in March 2021, she reported to Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command where she is currently serving as the Current Operations Officer.
LCDR Norrell is qualified Surface Warfare Office and Information Warfare Officer. She has received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (x2), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Joint Commendation Medal. She also has a Master of Science in Global Technology and Development from Arizona State University.

Accommodations: To request disability-related accommodations, please contact eirac@tamucc.edu or call 361-825-3154.