Dean's Lecture

Securing Cyberspace: A National Priority

Wednesday, October 8, 2014
4:10 pm to 5:30 pm
Dr. Fred Chang

Critical information systems remain vulnerable to attack by a wide range of potential adversaries. Unfortunately, the risks are real and the problem continues to worsen in scope. This talk will describe the current and evolving nature of the threat and will highlight dangers in cyberspace today. The talk will discuss some important considerations at the federal level, as today’s cyber security problem has become an issue of national security and of economic security. The talk will address the interdisciplinary nature of the problem and will discuss a number of critical technical, social, policy and privacy issues associated with the challenge of cyber security.

Frederick R. Chang is the director of the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security, the Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security, and professor at SMU. He is also a senior fellow in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in SMU’s Dedman College. He is the former director of research at the National Security Agency.

In the private sector he was most recently the president and chief operating officer of 21CT, Inc., an advanced intelligence analytics solutions company. Earlier, he was with SBC Communications, where he held a variety of executive positions including president of technology strategy for SBC Communications; president & CEO of SBC Technology Resources, Inc.; and vice president for network engineering and planning at SBC Advanced Solutions, Inc. He began his professional career at Bell Laboratories.

Dr. Chang has been awarded the National Security Agency Director’s Distinguished Service Medal. He has served as a member of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, and as a member of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies. He was also an expert witness on cybersecurity research and on the security of healthcare.gov for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Last updated:

March 26, 2015