What is the Role of Data Science in Cybersecurity?

The currency of cybersecurity is information, and nowhere is information more prevalent than in modern computer networks. Every day our critical infrastructure generates enormous amounts of data, more than can possibly be reviewed manually. Extracting valuable insights from this data requires unique, customized tooling. The field of Data Science focuses on creating techniques to uncover hidden patterns in enormous data sets, and developing tooling to enable this discovery on any dataset, in any environment. Over the past few years, significant advances have been made in both methodology and tooling, enabling even the most subtle of patterns to be identified using modern computer power. In this symposium we will highlight these advances, review a number of government use cases where data science has been used to great effect, and provide a demonstration of the capabilities that these tools can provide.

9:00– 9:15

Welcome / Introduction

• Greg Shannon, Chief Scientist – CERT

9:15 – 10:00

Morning Keynote

• Randy Miskanic, former CISO and VP Digital Solutions – United States Postal Service, current Executive Director, Group Information Security Office - UBS

10:00 – 11:00

Panel - Data Science in Cybersecurity: Needs, Challenges, and Opportunities

• Greg Shannon, Chief Scientist – CERT (moderator)
• Capt. Barry Tanner, Reserve Component Director/OSO - US Navy Fleet Cyber Command
• Andrew Woodward, Senior Analyst – JHU Applied Physics Lab
• Matt Gaston, Director – SEI Emerging Technology Center

11:00 – 11:15

Morning Break

11:15 – 12:00

Case Study - Applied Machine Learning in Software Security

• Elizer Kanal, Technical Manager – CERT

12:00 – 1:15

Lunch Break

1:15 – 2:00

Afternoon Keynote

• Bob Rudis, Chief Security Data Scientist – Rapid 7, former head of Verizon DBIR team

2:00 – 2:45

Presentation – Machine Learning/Autonomy is the Future of Cyber

• Shane Shaneman, Director of Strategic Government Research (DoD/IC) – Carnegie Mellon University

2:45 – 3:00

Afternoon Break

3:00 – 4:30

Tutorial – Data Science in Cybersecurity

This tutorial is designed to offer training on data science in cybersecurity principles and practices for individuals with all backgrounds. We will cover data science basics, a brief discussion of some techniques, and an overview of the types of insights you can hope to uncover using these tools.

Participants who attend the tutorial will be provided a Certificate of Completion from the Software Engineering Institute.

4:30

Closing Remarks

We hope you can join us for this important event!