Cybersecurity lecture scheduled for Nov. 12

A lecture on the importance of cybersecurity will be held Monday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in room 329 of the Adron Doran University Center (ADUC.)

The lecture is titled, “When Big Brother Meets Lord of the Flies: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity.” The speaker will be Dr. Richard J. Harknett, department head and professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati (UC.) He was an inaugural Fulbright Scholar in Cyber Studies at Oxford University and in 2016 served as the inaugural scholar-in-residence at US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, where he assisted at the command in examining strategic approaches to cyberspace. He was the principle author of Cyber Command’s new strategy of persistent engagement and continues to advise on it, along with others in government and academia.

Harknett was brought to campus thanks to a grant from the Hinkle Endowment. Dr. James Masterson, MSU associate professor of government and assistant dean for the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said cybersecurity is an important issue that affects everyone. 

“Nearly everyone on campus is plugged into cyberspace for e-commerce, entertainment, e-finance, and information from around the world,” Masterson said. “As a result, we generally all have some sensitive information that we use to access information in cyberspace. As such, we are all individually vested in the safety and security of our cyberspace activities.”

Harknett will discuss contemporary issues of cybersecurity, theoretical frameworks dealing with cybersecurity issues and strategic frameworks for U.S. national security policies for dealing with cyber-attacks.
“In a nutshell, participants will learn about the fundamentals of cybersecurity, U.S. strategies to deal with cyber threats, and how cyber threats affect us,” Masterson added.

The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Hinkle endowment, the Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, International Studies and Legal Studies, MSU’s Office of International Student Services and the Bluegrass State Intelligence Studies Center.

For more information on MSU’s political science program, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/study/politicalscience or call 606-783-2655.