BC Law, FBI present 10th annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security
At the 10th annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security, held at Boston College Law School on October 14, Jose Perez, operations director of the Criminal and Cyber Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stressed the critical importance of such convenings, emphasizing that the agency’s strength is derived from how well it shares information, learns from one another, and acts together.
“The cybersecurity threat is no longer a technical issue,” said Perez. “It’s a boardroom issue, a classroom issue, it’s a public safety issue that affects everyone. The threat environment is moving faster, reaching farther every single day, impacting more Americans. That’s why gatherings like his matter; no single agency, company, university, or country can meet this challenge alone.”
His appeal for collaboration was a central element of his keynote address at the event, the result of a long-term partnership between the FBI and the Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) in Cybersecurity, Risk, and Governance Program at BC Law.
“The distinction between cyber and physical threats has disappeared,” Perez said. “The cyber actors targeting critical infrastructure, healthcare systems and other essential services are not simply causing digital disruption; they’re putting American lives at risk every day. Criminal organizations and nation-state actors have created a complex threat environment that demands unprecedented collaboration across government agencies, industry partners, and international allies. Meeting this challenge requires agility, innovation and unity of effort.”
FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks delivered opening remarks.
FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks concurred in his opening remarks.
“There’s no question, we’re reaping the rewards of unprecedented digital innovation, but our expanding digital landscape has also created more ways for malicious actors to attack us,” said Docks. “Your FBI is focused on investigating and disrupting these attacks, supporting victims, and increasing our impact through partnerships. That said, we are only as good as the information we share with each other when an incident occurs, which is why events like this are so critical to advancing our shared goal of sharing intelligence and making cybercrime harder, riskier, and far less profitable for those behind it.”
Odette Lienau, Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of BC Law School.
During the event, Odette Lienau, the Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of Boston College Law School, addressed the gathering and recognized Kevin R. Powers, faculty director of M.L.S program, who launched the conference a decade ago in collaboration with the FBI.
“So much of this depends on Kevin,” she said. “He is so important to bringing together our partners in academia, private industry, and the government.”
Kevin Powers, faculty director of the M.L.S. in Cybersecurity, Risk, and Governance at BC Law School, launched the conferences in collaboration with the FBI a decade ago.
The conference also included two panel presentations composed of cybersecurity and legal experts discussing in turn the threat landscape and a simulated cyberattack.
The first, titled “Cybersecurity & AI Governance: Navigating the Threat Landscape and Staying Ahead of the Curve,” was moderated by Michael Roberts, counsel at McDermott, Will & Schulte. Panelists include Matthew Greenberg, assistant general counsel and executive director, Cybersecurity and Incident Response at Wells Fargo; Brigadier General Nathan Kearns, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Air Force; Mark Sutton, managing director & CISO, Bain Capital Ventures; Michael Kelly, special agent, FBI Boston-Cyber Division; and Christopher Porter, head of International Security Cooperation & Threat Intelligence at Google.
The second panel, “Cyber Attack Simulation: Resilient Incident Response in the Age of AI,” was moderated by Heather Egan, partner, Cybersecurity, Incident Response & Data Privacy at Morgan Lewis. Panelists include Simon Taylor, CEO & founder, HYCU, Inc.; Katie Jenkins, executive vice president & CISO, Liberty Mutual; Scott Lashway, partner & chair, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Group, Mintz; Jarret Wright, chief information officer, MassPort; Josh Madeley, Incident Response Practice lead, Mandiant (Google); and Doug Domin, supervisory special agent, FBI Boston-Cyber Crime Division.