IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative appoints new leadership

IEEE has announced two new appointments to lead the IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative. Robert K. Cunningham, Ph.D., leader of the Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, has been named chair of the Initiative. Ulf Lindqvist, Ph.D., program director in the Computer Science Laboratory at SRI International, is vice chair. Both will lead aspects of the IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative focused on developing tools and data to accelerate innovation in security and privacy technology, establishing guidance to build secure code for critical software applications, and facilitating adoption throughout the cybersecurity industry.

Since the IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative was established in 2014 under the leadership of former Chair Dr. Greg Shannon, chief scientist for CERT Division, Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute, the program established three initial focus areas. Beginning with the launch of the IEEE Center for Secure Design, the release of Building Code for Medical Device Software Security, and the development of various leadership perspectives through the women-in-security track, the IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative has worked with security practitioners, regulators, device manufacturers, and computer security experts to develop technical solutions to secure design and best practices to meet cybersecurity vulnerabilities in our daily lives.

On the appointments of Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Lindqvist to the IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative leadership, Dr. Shannon said: “I’m delighted that Rob and Ulf have agreed to lead this exciting Initiative. I’ve enjoyed starting this Initiative at a time when there are new opportunities to promote secure design techniques as a cornerstone for improving cybersecurity in practice. With their remarkable breadth of experience, Rob and Ulf will add unique perspectives to accelerate the practice of efficient cybersecurity.”

“The past several months have seen cybersecurity and its relevance ascend to a level of importance that should impact our research and technology efforts, as well as our personal and commercial practices,” said incoming chair Dr. Cunningham. “This heightened level of awareness underscores our task to drive adoption of best practices for cybersecurity, and I look forward to helping IEEE extend its leadership role as the brand that facilitates this adoption through standards and education.”

“The IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative is bringing together accomplished leaders from academia and business to tackle the biggest challenges in the industry,” said Dr. Lindqvist. “I am happy to have the opportunity to help support the Initiative and its mission to accelerate innovative research, development and use of efficient cybersecurity and privacy technologies across industries, and to coordinate the Initiative with other community efforts.”

Dr. Cunningham is a senior member of IEEE, served as the general chair for the 2012 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy and on the steering committee for the 2015 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SSP), and on program committees for the IEEE SSP and other IEEE conferences. In his role at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Dr. Cunningham initiates and manages research and development programs in information assurance and computer and platform security. He has patented security-related technology, presented and published widely, and served as general chair or program chair for many conferences and workshops. He has also served on several national panels, such as the U.S. Army Cyber Materiel Development Strategy Review Panel, and led national teams, such as the National Security Agency’s working group for computer network defense research and technology transition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Brown University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Boston University, and a doctorate in cognitive and neural systems from Boston University.

Dr. Lindqvist serves as vice chair and chair-elect of the Technical Committee on Security and Privacy for the IEEE Computer Society and was the general chair for the 2010 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. At SRI International, Dr. Lindqvist manages research and development programs in infrastructure security for government and commercial clients including SRI's support for the Cyber Security Division at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate. His areas of expertise include cyber security, infrastructure systems, intrusion detection (computer networks), and security for industrial control systems. Dr. Lindqvist has more than 30 publications in computer security and he holds one patent related to detection of security events at the application layer. Lindqvist holds a Ph.D. in computer engineering and an M.S. degree in computer science and engineering, both from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

To learn more, visit cybersecurity.ieee.org.