Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:21:11 -0400
acm, cyber, cyber-defense, cybersecurity, talk

ACM Distinguished Speaker Talk: American Self-Defense in Cyberspace

Dr. Josiah Dykstra

11am-12:30pm, Thursday, March 12

UMBC ITE 325b and online; Lunch provided!

The United States is a major consumer, contributor, and target in cyberspace. This talk will describe cyber threats, roles and responsibilities, technology, and policy considerations for achieving American self-defense in cyber. We will discuss options for defending against cyberattack, achieving deterrence, and the interplay between offense and defense. We will consider various perspectives from computer science and engineering, political science, and economics.

Dr. Josiah Dykstra is a senior researcher at RTX BBN Technologies. He solves ambitious problems by blending high-end security research with a real-world attacker mentality to fortify the code powering the world's most critical organizations and devices.

Dr. Dykstra previously worked for 19 years at the National Security Agency (NSA) where he advised leadership and employees on technical matters for integrated cybersecurity operations and provided technical direction on projects and programs that enabled high impact operational effects. He held a variety of technical and leadership positions including as a senior researcher within NSA's Research Directorate studying computer network operations. His work has also included penetration testing, digital forensics, and malware analysis.

Dykstra is a Lifetime and Distinguished Member of ACM. He attended the 2nd Heidelberg Laureate Forum as a Young Researcher in 2014, which motivated his commitment to ACM. He is passionate about developing and empowering the next generation of interdisciplinary computing professionals, particularly in cybersecurity. Dykstra remains an active collaborator with academic, industry, and government researchers around the country. He has received numerous noteworthy awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). He is one of eight people in the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) Hall of Fame.

Josiah received a B.S. in computer science and B.A. in music from Hope College (Holland, MI), M.S in information assurance from Iowa State University, and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His doctoral research explored new technical and legal mechanisms to support digital forensics for cloud computing environments. Dr. Dykstra is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

Dr. Dykstra is the author of the book Essential Cybersecurity Science (2016), a guide for practitioners and discusses key considerations for conducting scientific experiments in cybersecurity, including domain-specific insights including digital forensics and malware analysis. He is also co-author of the book Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions (2023). An experienced presenter and lecturer, he has spoken at major security events including Black Hat USA and RSA Conference.