Cyber Threats, Emerging Technologies and Legal Solutions was the topic of the public lecture delivered to our students by Patrick Kyhos, US expert in the field of cybersecurity, emerging technologies and international cooperation. He is at a visit at the UNWE as part of the Fulbright programme to provide guidance and ideas for the development of the Master's degree programme in Cybersecurity Management led by the UNWE National and Regional Security Department.
The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, expert in national security, opened the event and introduced the guest lecturer as a Fulbright scholar who has worked in the US Department of Justice, the FBI and the White House administration, Project Head for issues related to the legal use of new technologies, Manager of a special team of cyber researchers working on international cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks.
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| The Rector of the UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and the American expert Patrick Kyhos /from the right to the left/ |
"You will have the opportunity to hear about the cybersecurity issues from an expert who has held key positions in this area in the United States", said the Rector. "The cybersecurity is extremely important in today's world, where the Internet, digitalization and hacker attacks are an integral part of our daily lives. The problem of cybersecurity is very serious, and our task as a university concerned about the needs of society is to provide well-trained personnel in this field. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior open a Center for Cybersecurity, the business agencies say "Give us qualified people." So we have been struggling for a year to get accreditation for Bachelor`s degree programme in Cybersecurity at the University, but due to a capacity issue, our efforts have so far been in vain. We have spoken to several Ministers from the Ministry of Education and Science and representatives of the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency, which approves new specialities. At the same time, hackers operate and don't care about the accreditation, they don't need accreditation. Cybersecurity develops at a rapid pace and there is a great demand for specialists in this field everywhere, not only programmers, but also managers, economists and lawyers. In the United States 4 million people are demanded to deal with cyber threats, as it is a process that involves preliminary defence and prevention to avoid and prevent the damage of cyber incidents and it is possible only with well-trained professionals. That`s why we also rely on public support to open the Bachelor's degree programme in Cybersecurity.
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In his presentation the US cybersecurity expert Patrick Kyhos discussed the different types of cyber threats faced by private companies, governments and individuals, and how to respond in accordance with the existing laws, international agreements and regulations when the threats transform into actual attacks.
He examined the major cyber incidents globally occurred in December 2023, January, February and July 2024 that caused massive damage measured in billions of dollars. He also analyzed some important details surrounding them as well as key considerations related to the response, recovery and service delivery after the incidents occurred.
The guest lecturer presented a brief overview of emerging technologies and their potential use, which could both increase and decrease security threats in the future.
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The students showed great interest in the researched topic and asked specific questions to the guest lecturer.
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The lecture was also attended by representatives of the Fulbright Programme who introduced the students to the opportunities provided by the Programme for studing in the United States.
The guest lecturer Patrick Kyhos is a US expert in cybersecurity, emerging technologies and international cooperation. He has served in the White House as Director of Cyber Operations, Planning and Response. He has also worked at the US Department of Justice.He has started as a lawyer, handling high-priority cases involving technology. From this position he was specifically selected to be the Project Manager for matters involving the legal use of emerging technologies. Meanwhile, he was Head of a special team of cyber investigators to deal with international cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks.
Patrick Kyhos has Master's degree in Technology Systems as well as Juris Doctor degree focused on privacy and cybersecurity, and Master's degree in Technology Law from Georgetown University.