BC Law School hosts Boston Conference on Cyber Security
The ninth annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security, a multi-year partnership between BC Law and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, examined critical issues facing government and private organizations and their defense against the malicious and ever-increasing global cyber threats during a half-day convening at Boston College Law School.
The conference’s new location—having been held in Gasson Hall since its inception—and date reflected this fall’s launch of the Master of Legal Studies in Cybersecurity, Risk, and Governance program at BC Law and to coincide with “Cybersecurity Awareness Month.” BCCS 2025 was organized by Kevin R. Powers, faculty director and lecturer-in-law for the program.
BCCS keynote speaker Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division.
At the October 15 event, keynoter Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, acknowledged the “distinguished history” and strong alliance between the FBI and BC during his opening remarks, and said it was a privilege to speak to industry professionals and partners who share the FBI’s passion for the cyber mission.
“Make no mistake, the FBI recognizes the urgency of the cyber threat which greatly impacts national security in an increasingly digital battle space,” he said. “Unlike crime problems that we often see that impact single areas of geographic locations or regions in the United States, cyber threats are border-agnostic; they’re inherently international threats.”
He noted that hostile nations have grown more ambitious in their cyber operations, such as China’s state-sponsored Volt Typhoon cyber-attack group, burrowing deep in both America’s critical infrastructure and the private sector, seeking not just intelligence, but to “pre-place” capacity in networks in the event of military combat, specifically in the Indo-Pacific region. Leatherman emphasized that China’s cyber strategy is not just about intelligence collection, but about re-shaping the global balance of power
“This isn’t espionage; this is preparation. This ensures that if a military conflict breaks out, especially in the Indo-Pacific, they can flip the switch and potentially ‘turn off the lights’ and communications within the U.S. military before any shot is even fired.”
Simultaneously, cyber criminals continue to wreak havoc across entire industries, increasingly relying on inexpensive or stolen digital infrastructure to hide their operations, he noted: Just last year, Americans reported $1.5 billion in cyber-crime losses to the FBI, although that figure “is only a fraction of the actual.”
The FBI requires government and industry cooperation to fight cyber-crime, Leatherman said.
“Our charge is to make malicious cyber activity unsustainable for the bad actors. That means disrupting them—fighting the battle on their digital infrastructure—and trying to re-shape the broader environment through persistent engagement in cyber-space operations.”
One recent Massachusetts-related incident demonstrated the success of collaboration between the FBI’s Boston field office and private industry, he said. A software and cloud storage company utilized by numerous U.S. school systems was breached and threatened with the public disclosure of personal information for millions of students and teachers if they didn’t pay a multimillion-dollar ransom. But a private sector partner alerted the Boston FBI office which, with the aid of other field offices, identified the culprit as a Massachusetts college student who “apparently thought he had found a way to get rich quick.”
The conviction of the perpetrator, who was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay over $14 million in restitution, didn’t undo the harm caused, but “the accountability does provide some measure of justice to those victims.”
Leatherman cited the four pillars of the FBI’s cyber mission: identify and arrest; pressure the threat; leverage domestic authorities to inform the intelligence communities’ posture and to inform private sector partners to better defend their networks and downstream stakeholders; and protect cyber victims.
“The cornerstone of our work for over 115 years has been our commitment to the victim. It’s on all of us to support cyber-crime victims to help mitigate the harm of malicious cyber-attacks. Our commitment to support victims remains our north star.”
BCCS 2025 was co-organized by Kevin Powers, faculty director of BC Law's Master of Legal Studies in Cybersecurity, Risk, and Governance, shown here welcoming student attendees from Boston College High School to the event.
In her welcoming remarks, Odette Lienau, the Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of BC Law, noted that cybersecurity has become a strategic priority and a core business function, and requires a holistic approach to its challenges. But few professionals possess the technical, analytical, communication, and managerial skills to develop and then implement a unified strategy to address ever present and varying cyber threats.
“At BC Law, our mission is to educate lawyers—and now non-attorney professionals more broadly—who are technically skilled and deeply committed to service, ethics, and leadership. Our MLS program is a natural extension of that mission, designed for the times, which are defined by rapid technological change, escalating cyber threats, and a growing demand for professionals who can bridge the gap between law, policy, technology, and operational risk, while navigating the intricate legal and regulatory landscapes of cybersecurity and their intersection with data privacy and artificial intelligence.
“The collaborative approach of this conference, which emphasizes how different sectors must work together to ensure a secure cyber environment, reflects the hallmark of our program.”
Following the keynote address, a panel moderated by Powers and composed of technology executives from Boston professional sports franchises, along with former Boston Police Commissioner and current BC Chief of Police William B. Evans, discussed “Cybersecurity and Data Privacy in the Big Leagues: Protecting Fans, Players and the Stadiums.” In addition to Evans, the panelists included Randy George, Boston Red Sox; Michael Israel, The Kraft Group & Affiliates (New England Patriots); Richard Pruitt, Boston Celtics; and Shannon Torgerson, Boston Bruins.