Life as a Target – Richard M. George – 2.24.16

Abstract

Dickie George spent 41 years working for the National Security Agency as a cryptographer.  As a member of the Intelligence Community, he learns to live as a target.  The talk will cover examples of espionage campaigns, and the variety of techniques used.  Today the world has changed — communication systems, the internet, on-line life (banking, shopping, social life) the set of targets, the type of information that is sought, and the adversary have all changed significantly.  We’ll discuss those changes, how they impact us all, and how today’s cyber professionals need to address this threat to protect government, industry, and individuals.

Biography

Richard M. (Dickie) George is the Senior Advisor for Cyber Security at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. At the lab, he works on a number of projects sponsored by the US Government and provides oversight on additional efforts.  Prior to joining APL, he worked at the National Security Agency as a mathematician from 1970 until his retirement in 2011. While at NSA, he wrote more than 125 peer-reviewed technical papers on cryptomathematical subjects, ranging from new mathematical methods for attacking cryptographic algorithms, to security evaluations of complex systems.  He worked on Information Assurance projects, including hardware and software supply chain issues facing the US Government, for almost his entire 41-year NSA career. While at NSA, his work was recognized by the Cryptomath Institute as the most important mathematical contribution to the Agency’s mission in 1980 by 2 presidential Rank awards, a Superior Technical Award, a Distinguished Senior Technical Achievement Award, and he was elected to Distinguished Member status into both the Kryptos (Crypanalyticl Society) and the CMI (Cryptomath Society).  He served as the Technical Director of the Information Assurance Directorate for eight years until his retirement.