---
title: Stories from reviving and extending a university's information security program
osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/conferences/seagl2021/program/proposals/846
beginning: '2021-11-06T13:15:00.000-07:00'
end: '2021-11-06T13:45:00.000-07:00'
resources:
  internet_archive_identifier: SeaGL2021-Brian_Callahan-Reviving_and_extending_a_universitys_infosec_program
presenters:
- name: Brian Callahan
  affiliation: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/users/1158
  gravatar_id: 8cef8520eec94d3ee2c088b43cbde46d
  biography: |-
    Brian is a Lecturer in the Information Technology & Web Science program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He oversees the program's graduate and undergraduate information security concentrations. He teaches courses in information security and web science, and researches cybersecurity pedagogy, digital humanities collaborative software, issues of identity and representation in technology, and the development of amateur radio communications protocols.

    In his free time, Brian is a developer for the OpenBSD operating system. In a previous life, he was a classically trained professional bassoonist and contrabassoonist. He still enjoys performing with local orchestras as often as he can.
---

In 2019, I was tasked with reviving a university information security program that had been on life support for the last 5 years. Two years on, and I have helped to design and implement several new courses, rewrote from scratch other courses, implemented monthly campus-wide infosec hangout nights, begun a campus-wide infosec awareness campaign, and more.

Join me as I tell stories about what went right, what went wrong, what I might do differently with the benefit of hindsight, and what the future has in store. This talk is designed to give you insights on how you can better engage with and implement infosec awareness and education in your own organizations and help prepare the next generation of security experts.
