The conference is organized by Kevin R. Powers, founding director of the program and an assistant professor of the practice at Boston College’s Law School and Carroll School of Management, with the FBI Boston Division and its cyber/counterintelligence program.
Across the United States, businesses and individuals lost approximately $3.5 billion to cybercriminals last year while reporting more incidents of internet crime to the FBI than any other year. In the Boston Division, victims suffered a total estimated loss of $50 million, according to Special Agent Bonavolonta. “Virtually every national security threat and crime problem we come across is cyber-based or digitally facilitated, and we’re very much aware of the urgent need to address it,” he said. “Our partnership with Boston College is part of our ongoing effort to strengthen the relationships between law enforcement, private industry, and academia in order to better address the increasingly complex cyber threats we’re all facing.”
BCCS 2021 marks the fifth year that the FBI has partnered with Boston College on what Powers calls an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to preparing for and combating cyber attacks.
“Although virtual this year, BCCS 2021 will continue to expand upon and strengthen the relationships between government, private industry, and academia to address the varying cyber threats, whether by nation states, cyber criminals, hacktivists, or terrorists,” Powers said. “This is needed more than ever given COVID-19 and the move to the virtual workforce.
“Once again, BC is taking the lead in fulfilling its mission of developing and educating leaders to meet the world’s most pressing issues, and we’re doing so by partnering with the FBI to discuss ways to strengthen cyber and national security—not only to protect government and industry networks and critical infrastructure, but also our private personal data,” he added.
This collaborative approach of BCCS is a hallmark of the Boston College M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance program, which is an approved training provider for the U.S .Department of Homeland Security’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies. The BC program aims to prepare professionals to design, develop, and implement cybersecurity strategies that defend against and ensure recovery from cyberattacks and to bridge the communication gap between information technology security professionals and key business stakeholders.
All M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance courses are taught by cybersecurity industry leaders and practitioners doing cutting-edge work in the field; the program collaborates with more than 50 private industry and government leaders who serve as visiting professors and guest lecturers, or serve on the program’s advisory council.
Learn more about the program at the M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance website.
Patricia Delaney, Ed Hayward | University Communications | March 2021
