Each quarter, a selection of ICIT Fellows gather to discuss their perspectives on a timely cybersecurity topic pertinent to critical infrastructure resiliency and national security. The full ICIT Fellows’ Insights Roundtable video is featured below. The conversation topic and questions are based on questions solicited from the ICIT community and we hope that the Fellows’ Insights prove informative, actionable, and meaningful. As with all ICIT content, the entirety of the discussion is non-partisan, objective, and vendor-agnostic. All perspectives, opinions, and views expressed are those of the individual speaker, may not be reflective of their organization, and should not be construed as an official position of their organization or ICIT.

Featured Panelists:

  • Laura Whitt-Winyard, CISO of Malwarebytes
  • Sean Zadig, CISO and Chief Paranoid, Yahoo
  • Steve Kapinos, Vice President, Cognitive Cyber, ManTech
  • Michael Aisenberg, Cyber Policy Consultant, MITRE Center for National Security

“How Should Legislators and Agency Leaders Deter Cyber Attacks Incited by Geopolitical Conflict?”

In the May 2022 ICIT Fellows’ Insights Roundtable, cybersecurity experts explored “How Should Legislators and Agency Leaders Deter Cyber Attacks Incited by Geopolitical Conflict?” Based on feedback solicited from ICIT members, the Fellows addressed:

  1. What more should legislators or the executive branch be doing to minimize the frequency or impact of geopolitically motivated cyber attacks? What measures have a high or low impact on reducing this category of cyber attack?
  2. How are agencies responding and what should they do different to better inform or enable the defense of critical infrastructure?
  3. Do the same strategies and responses apply to advanced persistent threat (APT) actors as apply to the APT weaponization of low-sophistication attackers?
  4. What is the role of the private sector in or during to international cyber-physical conflicts?

Watch the Full Panel

Laura Whitt-Winyard
Laura Whitt-WinyardICIT Fellow and CISO, Malwarebytes
Laura Whitt-Winyard is an award-winning Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Malwarebytes. She is also an International Advisory Board Member and Women in Technology Board Member at HMG Strategy. Prior to her time at Malwarebytes, she was Global Chief Information Security Officer for DLL Group, Director of Security for Billtrust, and held senior leadership positions in security at Comcast and Bloomberg, LP.
Sean Zadig
Sean ZadigICIT Fellow and VP, CISO, and Chief Paranoid, Yahoo
Sean Zadig has been with Yahoo for eight years and currently serves as the Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and “Chief Paranoid.” Before his CISO role, Sean was VP of Cyber Defense. He has also previously worked at Google and NASA on cybercrime matters.
Steve Kapinos
Steve KapinosICIT Fellow and VP, Cognitive Cyber, ManTech
Steven Kapinos is ManTech’s Vice President and Cognitive Cyber Technology Focus Area lead responsible for new innovations and capabilities that turn cybersecurity-relevant data into insights that support mission operations.
Michael Aisenberg
Michael AisenbergICIT Fellow and Cyber Policy Consultant, MITRE Center for National Security
Michael Aisenberg is an attorney with 47 years experience supporting federal agencies, international bodies, and businesses in matters of national security law and policy. He is the chair of the ABA Information Security Committee and a member of the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists.