The Aspen Institute

In the spring of 2020—and without detection—Russia infiltrated federal agencies and possibly hundreds of America’s largest corporations. How did the nation’s cybersecurity defenses fail so severely, what are the risks, and what do we do now? 

We are joined by:

• Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chair, Senate Intelligence Committee
• Kevin Mandia, CEO, FireEye
• Katie Moussouris, Founder & CEO, Luta Security
• John Carlin, Chair, Cybersecurity & Technology Program, The Aspen Institute

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Senator Mark Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2008 and reelected to a third term in November 2020. He serves on the Senate Finance, Banking, Budget, and Rules Committees as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the Vice Chairman. During his time in the Senate, Senator Warner has established himself as a bipartisan leader who has worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to cut red tape, increase government performance and accountability, and promote private sector innovation and job creation. Senator Warner has been recognized as a national leader in fighting for our military men and women and veterans, and in working to find bipartisan, balanced solutions to address our country’s debt and deficit. From 2002 to 2006, he served as Governor of Virginia. When he left office in 2006, Virginia was ranked as the best state for business, the best managed state, and the best state in which to receive a public education. The first in his family to graduate from college, Mark Warner spent 20 years as a successful technology and business leader in Virginia before entering public office. An early investor in the cellular telephone business, he co-founded the company that became Nextel and invested in hundreds of start-up technology companies that created tens of thousands of jobs. Senator Warner and his wife Lisa Collis live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have three daughters.

Kevin Mandia has served as FireEye Chief Executive Officer since June 2016 and was appointed to the company’s Board of Directors in February 2016. He was previously President of FireEye from February 2015 until June 2016. Kevin joined FireEye as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in December 2013, when FireEye acquired Mandiant, the company he founded in 2004. Before Mandiant, Kevin was the Director of Computer Forensics at Foundstone (acquired by McAfee Corporation) from 2000 to 2003, and the Director of Information Security for Sytex (later acquired by Lockheed Martin) from 1998 to 2000. Kevin also served in the United States Air Force, where he was a computer security officer in the 7th Communications Group at the Pentagon, and a special agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). Kevin holds a B.S. in computer science from Lafayette College and a M.S. in forensic science from The George Washington University.

Katie Moussouris is the founder and CEO of a new security start-up company called Luta Security, which specializes in helping businesses and governments work with hackers to better defend themselves from digital attacks. Katie is a noted authority on vulnerability disclosure & bug bounties. She advises companies, lawmakers, & governments on the benefits of hacking & security research to help make the internet safer for everyone. She is a hacker – first hacking computers, now hacking policy & regulations. Katie helped the US Department of Defense start the government’s first bug bounty program, called “Hack the Pentagon.” Her earlier Microsoft work encompassed industry-leading initiatives such as Microsoft’s bug bounty programs & Microsoft Vulnerability Research. She is also a subject matter expert for the US National Body of the International Standards Organization (ISO) in vuln disclosure (29147), vuln handling processes (30111), and secure development (27034). She is a visiting scholar with MIT Sloan School, doing research on the vulnerability economy and exploit market, a New America Foundation Fellow, and Harvard Belfer Affiliate. She serves on the CFP review board for RSA, O’Reilly Security Conference, Shakacon, and is an advisor to the Center for Democracy and Technology.

John Carlin, the chair of the Aspen Institute’s Cyber & Technology Program, left the Obama administration after serving as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, the Department of Justice’s top national security attorney. In this Senate-confirmed position, John oversaw nearly 400 employees responsible for protecting the country against international and domestic terrorism, espionage, cyber, and other national security threats. The Justice Department’s National Security Division—working closely with the White House, the intelligence community, and prosecutors around the country—has helped to put together many of the most important cyber indictments and cases against hackers of the last eight years, ranging from the indictment of five Chinese military hackers for cyber-espionage to the case against Iranian hackers who attacked a New York hydroelectric dam, as well as being integral to cases like the hacking of Sony Pictures and the recent Russian attacks on the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Today, Carlin is also the global chair of the risk and crisis management practice for the law firm Morrison & Foerster and is a sought-after industry speaker on cyber issues as well a CNBC contributor on national security issues. A frequent commentator, he has also appeared on shows like Charlie Rose.