Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, will deliver the keynote address at the eighth annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5, at Boston College's Gasson Hall.

Assistant Director Vorndran will discuss the FBI's work to address today's cyber threats, the importance of strong partnerships, and the FBI's primary role to ensure Americans are safe, secure, and confident in our digitally connected world. 

The half-day Boston Conference on Cyber Security is the result of a partnership between the FBI and the Masters in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program at BC's Woods College of Advancing Studies.

Additional speakers include Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division; Odette Lienau, Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of the Boston College Law School; Lt. General Kevin B. Kennedy, U.S. Air Force, Commander, Air Force Cyber and Joint Force Headquarters Cyber; and Kevin R. Powers, J.D., founder & director, M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy & Governance Programs at Boston College. To see the entire program and panelists: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/wcas/sites/boston-conference-on-cyber-security/welcome.html.

 “There is an ever-increasing risk of becoming a victim of a cybercrime or being targeted by a hostile nation-state,” said Cohen. “Our adversaries are actively trying to exploit gaps in our intelligence and information security networks. The FBI Boston Cyber Task Force, in partnership with the whole of government, private sector, and academia, are working together to help close the intelligence gaps and form a larger threat picture to identify those responsible. Partnerships are critical to our overall success, and the FBI is proud to co-host the eighth annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security with Boston College.”

Powers said: "Our goal in hosting the annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security with the FBI is to build and strengthen the relationships between academia, government, and private industry, not only here in New England, but nationally. This is especially important with the current threats posed by the increasing number of ransomware attacks on private and governmental organizations. By bringing senior government leaders from the FBI, CISA, SEC, U.S. Cyber Command, along with private sector experts and practitioners, including CrowdStrike, Google Mandiant, IBM, HYCU, Goodwin, Jones Day, and Guidehouse, to BC to discuss today’s threats and address ways in which organizations, both private and public, big and small, can better protect their networks, operations, and sensitive data, we’re taking the lead consistent with the University’s mission to educate leaders to address the world’s most urgent problems and provide `service to others.’”