Center for Security Studies:
Events & Workshops

The Center for Security Studies hosted several webinars in 2025, covering a range of important and timely topics such as AI, machine learning, insider threats, cyber fluency, and much more. Watch the complete collection of 2025 webinars below:

• Cyber Bilingual Fluency: Embedding Security Across Every Discipline
• "My Lying Eyes"
• The Shifting Battlefield: Cybersecurity in the Age of AI
• The 51-Second Career Revolution: How UMGC is Building Tomorrow's Cyber Defenders
• The Rise of GRC Engineering: Redefining the GRC Profession
• My Cyber Path: From High School Curiosity to Industry Advocacy
• Human-AI Partnerships in Security
• Maryland Leads the Way: The Future of Cyber and AI Talent Recording 
• 3CS Symposia, Cyber Ready Professional Programs, and the Stackable Credential Program
• The Future is Psyber Security
• Introduction to Generative AI with AWS
• The Machine Learning (ML) Lifecycle 
• AI Ethical Hacking & Next-Gen CEH v13
• Insider Threat Pathway – Behind Insider’s Actions and Cover-Up
• AI Security & Enterprise Security: "Building Trust in an Intelligent Future" Recording
• Managing Insider Threats – From Psychosocial Behavioral Indicator Lens

On May 24, 2023, UMGC's Center for Security Studies hosted an informative online webinar with Kemba Walden, Acting National Cyber Director in the White House's Office of the National Cyber Director. Walden brings a wealth of leadership experience, including high-level cybersecurity and legal roles at Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. She discussed several topics, including the cybersecurity workforce, digital literacy educational pipeline, and U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy. More than 500 people attended online, and UMGC’s Global Media Center provided a written recap of the event.

On April 27, 2019, University of Maryland Global Campus's Center for Security Studies was proud to host a cybersecurity research colloquium. The students, each of whom were recipients of 2017-2019 National Security Agency and MITRE Corporation grants and scholarships, were able to share their respective research areas and interests with one another. They also heard from incredible guest speakers: Patrick

O'Guinn, JD, program chair for UMGC's Master of Science in digital forensics & cyber investigation, and David Tobey, PhD, director of research and assessments from the National CyberWatch Center.

The colloquium, held at UMGC's Dorsey Station Academic Center in Elkridge, Maryland, was a great success, and students walked away with a lot to consider as they contemplate their own writing, branding, research and publishing options.

On October 9, 2018, UMGC and the Center for Security Studies, under the direction of Dr. Loyce Best Pailen hosted the Education Track, "What CISOs Worry About," at the 2018 CyberMaryland Conference. The Ponemon Institute's January 2018 survey of the same title set the stage for this year's conference. Academic leaders and professionals in the public and private sectors discussed the top concerns among Chief Information Security Officers and how the right certifications, training, and education can help prepare you to deal with threats and job concerns.

The sessions were a huge success with more than 90 percent of the attendees surveyed rating the sessions between 4 and 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being "Very Good"). The Center for Security Studies

thanks all of program directors, administrators, staff at UMGC, along with marketing and the President's office for their support in making this event a success. The support of FBC was outstanding in helping coordinate this effort within the entire CyberMaryland conference agenda.

Please see our Previous Events & Workshops playlist to view the four sessions showcasing leading CISOs from the government and private industry sharing their thoughts and experiences on how their educations and backgrounds prepared them for their positions.

On October 11–12, 2017, University of Maryland Global Campus was proud to sponsor the education track at CyberMaryland 2017, which included four sessions under the theme Advancing the Cyber Intelligence Quotient. Navigating a career in cybersecurity requires a fresh and futuristic approach to awareness, education, and training. With the right preparation, the members of the national workforce can become cyber warriors who have an in-depth awareness of the current state of the field and an understanding of the critical issues that the industry faces. Hear from cyber professionals in the public and private sectors, academic leaders, and students about current cybersecurity challenges and how the right certifications, training, and education can help fulfill the nation's cyber workforce needs. Watch all four sessions of Advancing the Cyber Intelligence Quotient below.

In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the UMGC Center for Security Studies hosted this professional development and networking event on Friday, November 4, 2016, at the UMGC Academic Center at Largo. Watch the event recap.

Open to students, faculty, professionals, and the public, the event presented attendees with the latest trends in cybersecurity technology, policy, management, digital forensics, and operations. The event brought together cybersecurity experts from around the nation to speak to these issues and provide insight about the challenges, concerns, solutions, and new opportunities in this vast arena.

Our online world has plunged headfirst into reliance upon encryption, but there are subtle—and occasionally disastrous—consequences. These can include lack of visibility to most inspection devices, lost keys resulting in data loss, wrong assumptions about the actual risk to data, and unexpected leaks when the data is not as protected as intended. This talk by Mr. Paul Boin reviews some instructive case studies and lays out guidelines for ensuring that your cryptographic efforts safely meet requirements.

This event, held on October 21, 2015 at the UMGC Academic Center in Largo, Maryland, featured influential cybersecurity thought leaders who discussed new trends, strategies, and challenges. Speakers

included Gerald N. "Chip" Willard, senior technical leader at the National Security Agency, Devon Bryan, vice president of global chief information security services at ADP, Stephen Gantz, chief security and privacy officer at Cognosante, and Richard Smith, information and security officer at Freddie Mac. Watch the event recap.

Over a 40-year career, Dr. Mark Pollitt has been a military officer, FBI Special Agent, consultant, and educator. He was the first Agent designated as a Computer Evidence Examiner in the FBI's Computer Analysis Response Team and later became Director of the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory Program. In this presentation, Dr. Pollitt discusses the applied science of digital forensics—collecting, examining, and analyzing digital content as evidence in criminal investigations—and the long-standing debate over whether IT specialists ("geeks") or law enforcement professionals ("cops") should conduct it. Watch the event recap.

Emery Csulak is the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for the Department of Homeland Security. He is responsible for the implementation of the department's information security program. He leads and facilitates information security policy and guidance and architecture requirements for all DHS systems and networks. Mr. Csulak has over 20 years of experience in information technology, information security and management consulting and has been a key leader in the support of DHS since 2004.

The Webinar featured Debora A. Plunkett, director of the Information Assurance Directorate at the National Security Agency. Ms. Plunkett shared her insights about rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities and trends. She discussed emerging cybersecurity strategies to protect and defend cyberspace and shed light on the importance of preparing a robust cyber workforce to defend our national information infrastructure.

The Webinar on security clearance featured recognized security expert Georgina Obenschain, vice president and director of Security, Science Applications International Corporations-SAIC. Ms. Obenschain shared her insights and useful tips about the security clearance process.

This Webinar on the state of cybersecurity and governmental policymaking featured Larry Clinton, president and CEO of the Internet Security Alliance. Mr. Clinton addressed innovative policy formulation and implementation strategies in the face of the unprecedented cybersecurity challenges of our nation.

This Webinar featured a prominent speaker, Dr. Ron Deibert, director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He offered an in-depth presentation and discussion about the growing geopolitical competition over cyberspace and its implications for global security. Drawing from research of the Citizen Lab, and in particular the Information Warfare Monitor's Ghostnet and Shadows in the Cloud, Ron Deibert shared prominent trends contributing to cyberspace contestation and provided unique perspectives on the broader implications for world politics and security.

The Cybersecurity and Homeland Defense Symposium and Job Fair featured a keynote speech and panel discussions by prominent leaders in cybersecurity and homeland defense. The job fair brought together UMGC students, alumni and working professionals with the area's top employers in cybersecurity, information assurance, homeland security, emergency response management, law enforcement and criminal justice.

This seminar featured a keynote speech by Dale Meyerrose, the first CIO for the National Intelligence Community and current vice president and general manager for Cyberspace Solutions at Harris Corporation. Attendees included students, faculty, educators, policymakers, government and law enforcement officials, military personnel, defense contractors, interagency and private sector communities working/interested in cybersecurity, information assurance and homeland security. This seminar offered an in-depth presentation and discussion about the U.S. cyber infrastructure, the breadth of our information architecture and how together they prevent security breaches and foreign and domestic attacks.