About the Conference

Co-hosted by the Siebel Energy Institute and the Siebel Scholars Foundation, the 2017 Siebel Scholars Conference, Energy Grid Cybersecurity: Threats and Solutions, focused on the frequency, nature, sources, and potential impact of cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, with a concentration on the power grid.

The American energy grid, arguably the most important infrastructure to society, is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattack. Without more active collaboration among researchers, the private sector, and government agencies to develop and deploy solutions, the grid will continue to exist in a tenuous state.

As a new U.S. administration charts its course, Siebel Scholars along with government leaders, Siebel Energy Institute researchers, and utilities experts discussed and debated the extent of the grid cybersecurity problem, as well as how to best secure the grid going forward.

The conference began on the evening of Friday, March 3, at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, where the Honorable Dr. Robert M. Gates, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, engaged in a fireside chat with Thomas M. Siebel. Dinner with the Siebel Scholars, speakers, and special guests followed.

On Saturday, March 4, Siebel Scholars and conference speakers engaged in two highly interactive panel discussions, both moderated by legendary anchor, journalist, and author of Lights Out, Ted Koppel, at the National Academy of Sciences building.

The morning panel topic was “What is the Extent of the Problem?” featuring Richard Clarke, Cybersecurity Expert and Former Counterterrorism Czar; Robert Lee, CEO, Dragos, Inc.; Liam O’Murchu, Director, Security Technology and Response, Symantec; and Kevin Mandia, CEO, FireEye, Inc.

After a luncheon at the United States Institute of Peace, the afternoon topic, “How Should We Think About Securing Critical Infrastructure?” featured General Michael V. Hayden, Former Director of the CIA and the NSA; Dr. Douglas Maughan, Division Director, Cybersecurity Division, DHS/S&T/HSARPA; Tim Conway, Technical Director, ICS and SCADA programs at the SANS Institute; Steve Orrin, Federal Chief Technologist, Intel Corp.; and Jeremiah Grossman, Professional Hacker, Chief of Security at SentinelOne.

Conference attendees and speakers continued their discussions informally Saturday evening at a dinner and celebration at the Newseum where guests were entertained by acclaimed singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow.

Sunday March 5, the final day of the program, was dedicated to the power of collaboration. Siebel Scholars worked in breakout groups with Siebel Energy Institute researchers to develop recommendations for making the power grid more resilient. Teams presented their ideas to the group for broader discussion.

Speakers

  • Speaker

    Dr. Robert M. Gates

    22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense

    Robert Gates served as the 22nd secretary of defense (2006-2011) and is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected President. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Gates has served. He previously served under President George W. Bush.

    On Gates’ last day in office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

    Before becoming secretary of defense in 2006, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University, one of the nation’s largest universities. Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency on August 1, 2002, he served as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

    Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, the White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.

    Gates served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as deputy director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the President and deputy national security adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989 until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.

    Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has three times received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

    He is the author of three memoirs, A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service published January 2016, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War published in January 2014, and From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War published in 1996.

    Gates currently serves on the board of directors of Starbucks and is partner in the consulting firm, RHG LLC, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others. He has also served on the board of directors and executive committee of the American Council on Education, the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been president of the National Eagle Scout Association.

    He was elected president of the Boy Scouts of America in May 2014, and after completing his two-year term, remains on its board.

    A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. Gates was installed as chancellor of the college of William & Mary, beginning in February 2012. He is the first William & Mary alumnus in the modern era to serve as chancellor of the college. In 1967, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

  • Speaker

    Ted Koppel

    Broadcast Journalist and Author

    Over the course of 26 years as anchor and managing editor of Nightline, Ted Koppel became the longest serving news anchor in U.S. broadcast history. After leaving ABC in 2005, Koppel and his colleagues produced 20 hours of documentaries for the Discovery Network where he served as managing editor. Since then he has worked as a contributing analyst for BBC America and a special correspondent for the NBC News magazine program, Rock Center.

    In 2012, New York University named Koppel one of the “100 outstanding journalists in the United States in the last 100 years.” When he left ABC News after 42 years, he was the most honored reporter in that network’s history, having received more “Overseas Press Club” awards than the previous record holder, Edward R. Murrow, and eight “George Foster Peabody” awards. Television’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize is the Columbia-DuPont award. Koppel has won 12 of them. He has also been awarded 42 Emmy’s, including one for lifetime achievement.

    And he’s still at it—Koppel’s most recent book, a New York Times best seller, Lights Out (October, 2015) examines a threat unique to our time and evaluates potential ways for America to prepare for a cyber catastrophe. Koppel serves as commentator and non-fiction book reviewer for National Public Radio. He is also a contributing columnist to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

  • Speaker

    Richard Clarke

    Former U.S. National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism

    Richard Clarke’s name is synonymous with both Cybersecurity and Counter-terrorism. He literally “wrote the book” on both subjects, by leading the U.S. Government on both topics from the White House and then, upon leaving government, by writing the best recognized books on both topics.

    On Cybersecurity, Richard Clarke’s work goes back as far as 1997 when he became the senior White House official in charge of that then nascent field. He was the first ever Special Advisor on Cyberspace Security to the President of the United States and wrote the “National Plan for Cybersecurity” (for President Clinton) and the “National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace” (for President Bush43). Over twenty nations have since developed similar national strategies. Richard Clarke’s book, CYBER WAR: The Next National Security Threat and What to do About It, is widely regarded as the seminal work on international cyber conflict.

    On Counter-terrorism, Richard Clarke was the senior U.S. Government official under three Presidents (Bush, Clinton, Bush) over the course of an unprecedented eleven years of continuous White House service. Richard Clarke was one of the first officials to identify the threat from al Qaeda and to plan and direct actions against it. He was the national crisis manager on 9-11. His work on Counter-Terrorism was summarized on an unclassified basis in his #1 nation-wide best seller, Against All Enemies, Inside America’s War on Terror.

    Richard Clarke’s appearance before the 9-11 Commission brought him to public attention, as he alone apologized to the victims’ families. He then blamed the Bush Administration for inattention to al Qaeda and was one of the first former senior officials to criticize the decision to go to war in Iraq.

    Over thirty years in national security positions, Clarke served in the Pentagon, the State Department, the Intelligence Community, and the National Security Council-White House. Since leaving government, he has published five books (including two novels), served for nine years as an on-air consultant for ABC News, taught for five years at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and managed his own consulting firm. He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute in Washington and a Trustee of Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates.

    Richard Clarke has appeared on television often including The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, ABC World News Tonight, CNN’s The Situation Room, Good Morning America, Meet the Press, the PBS News Hour, Charlie Rose, and PBS Frontline.

    Today, Richard Clarke is a leading consultant to industry and governments on cybersecurity and sits on several corporate boards of IT security companies. His writings on cybersecurity have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and numerous other publications. His book Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters was made into a film documentary entitled “State of Security.”

  • Speaker

    General Michael Hayden

    Retired Four-star General and Second Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

    General Michael Hayden is a retired four-star general who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency when the course of world events was changing at a rapid rate. As head of the country’s premier intelligence agencies, he was on the frontline of global change, the war on terrorism, and the growing cyber challenge. He understands the dangers, risks, and potential rewards of the political, economic, and security situations facing us.

    In addition to leading the CIA and NSA, General Hayden was the country’s first principal deputy director of national intelligence and the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the country. In all of these jobs, he worked to put a human face on American intelligence, explaining to the American people the role of espionage in protecting both American security and American liberty. Hayden also served as commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center and served in senior staff positions at the Pentagon, at U.S. European Command, at the National Security Council, and the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria. He was also the deputy chief of staff for the United Nations Command and U.S. Forces in South Korea.

    Hayden has been a frequent expert and commentator on major news outlets and in top publications, valued for his expertise on intelligence matters like cybersecurity, government surveillance, geopolitics, and more. He was featured in the HBO documentary Manhunt, which looked at espionage through the eyes of the insiders who led the secret war against Osama bin Laden, and in Showtime’s The Spymasters, a detailed look at the directors of the Central Intelligence Agency.

    Hayden is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group and a distinguished visiting professor at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. He is on the board of directors of Motorola Solutions and serves on a variety of other boards and consultancies. In 2013, the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) awarded Hayden the 29th annual William Oliver Baker Award. General Hayden is also the first recipient of the Helms Award presented by the CIA Officers’ Memorial Foundation. In 2014 he was the inaugural Humanitas visiting professor in intelligence studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. His recent memoir, Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, has been a New York Times best-seller and was recently selected as one of the 100 most notable books of 2016.

  • Speaker

    Jeremiah Grossman

    Chief of Security Strategy at SentinelOne and Professional Hacker

    Jeremiah Grossman’s career spans nearly 20 years and he has lived a literal lifetime in computer security to become one of the industry’s biggest names. And since Jeremiah earned a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, the media has described him as “the embodiment of converged IT and physical security.” Preventing attacks from the scariest cyber criminals is all in a day’s work for Jeremiah, but staying a keystroke ahead of the bad guys isn’t easy. In 2001, Jeremiah founded WhiteHat Security, which today has one of the largest professional hacking armies on the planet. He also serves on the advisory board of several hot start-ups including Kenna Security, SD Elements, and BugCrowd. Of course, all of this was after Mr. Grossman served as information security officer at Yahoo!

    Jeremiah has received a number of industry awards, been publicly thanked by Microsoft, Mozilla, Google, Facebook, and many others for privately informing them of weaknesses in their systems – a polite way of saying, ‘hacking them.’ His research has included new ways to surreptitiously turn on anyone’s computer video camera and microphone from anywhere across the Internet, sidestep corporate firewalls, abuse online advertising networks to take any website offline, hijack the email and bank accounts of millions, silently rip out saved passwords and surfing history from web browsers, and many other innovative cyberattack techniques – some so insidious and fundamental that many still have not been fixed to this day.

  • Speaker

    Tim Conway

    SANS Technical Director – ICS and SCADA programs

    Tim Conway serves as the Technical Director, ICS and SCADA programs, SANS Institute, and is responsible for developing, reviewing, and implementing technical components of the SANS ICS and SCADA product offerings. A recognized leader in CIP operations, he formerly served as the Director of CIP Compliance and Operations Technology at Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), and was responsible for Operations Technology, NERC CIP Compliance, and the NERC training environments for the operations departments within NIPSCO Electric. Recognizing the need for NERC CIP training in these industries, Tim authored ICS’s newest course ICS456 – Essentials for NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection and is also the course instructor. Previously, he was an EMS Computer Systems Engineer at NIPSCO for eight years, with responsibility over the control system servers and the supporting network infrastructure.

    Tim served as the former Chair of the RFC CIPC, Chair of the NERC CIP Interpretation Drafting Team, Chair of the NERC CIPC GridEx Working Group, and Chair of the NBISE Smart Grid Cybersecurity panel.

  • Speaker

    Robert M. Lee

    CEO and Founder of Dragos, Inc.

    Robert M. Lee is the CEO and Founder of the critical infrastructure cybersecurity company Dragos, Inc. where he has a passion for control system traffic analysis, digital forensics, and threat intelligence research. He is also a non-resident National Cybersecurity Fellow at New America focusing on policy issues relating to the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. For his research and focus areas, Robert was named one of Passcode’s Influencers, awarded EnergySec’s Cybersecurity Professional of the Year (2015), and inducted into Forbes’ 30 under 30 for Enterprise Technology (2016).

    A passionate educator, Robert is the course author of SANS ICS515 – “Active Defense and Incident Response,” the co-author of SANS FOR578 – “Cyber Threat Intelligence,” and an Adjunct Lecturer at Utica College for the M.S. Cyber Operations specialization.

    Robert obtained his start in cybersecurity in the U.S. Air Force where he served as a Cyber Warfare Operations Officer. He has performed defense, intelligence, and attack missions in various government organizations including the establishment of a first-of-its-kind ICS/SCADA cyber threat intelligence and intrusion analysis mission. Robert routinely writes articles and journals in publications such as Control Engineering and the Christian Science Monitor’s Passcode. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences around the world and is currently pursuing his PhD at Kings College London with research into the cybersecurity of control systems. Lastly, Robert, along with Jeff Haas, creates a weekly technology and security web comic titled Little Bobby.

  • Speaker

    Kevin Mandia

    CEO of FireEye, Inc.

    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). He holds a B.S. in computer science from Lafayette College and a M.S. in forensic science from The George Washington University.

  • Speaker

    Liam O'Murchu

    Director of Security Technology and Response, Symantec

    Liam O’Murchu is at the forefront of a cyber crime arms race. He is the Director of Security Response for Symantec North America and has been uncovering and responding to high-profile malware outbreaks for the last 10 years.

    At Symantec, it is his job to analyze and thoroughly understand malware and its implications and threats, and to execute a dual-pronged approach. He and the Norton Security Technology and Response (STAR) team identify every aspect of malware and where it originates, and work with government to track down and take down cyber criminals.

    Over the past decade Liam’s team of threat analysts have investigated and responded to the most sophisticated cyberattacks to ever emerge. These range from professional cyber criminals targeting financial institutions, to government backed threats targeting critical infrastructure. His investigation of Stuxnet, which targeted Uranium enrichment centrifuges, exposed the first known use of code as a weapon. Many of his team’s investigations since then involve attacks on critical infrastructure and government institutions. His work has been documented in the book Countdown to Zero Day by Wired’s Kim Zetter and in the documentary Zero Days by Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney.

Schedule

Friday, March 3

  • 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

    Conference registration

    “K” Street Lobby, Capital Hilton

  • 6:00 pm – 6:15 pm

    Shuttles depart

    Capital Hilton to National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum

  • 6:30 pm – 7:15 pm

    Welcome reception

    National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum

  • 7:15 pm – 8:00 pm

    Fireside chat with Dr. Robert Gates and Thomas Siebel

    National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard

  • 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

    Dinner

    National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum

  • 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm

    Shuttles depart

    National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum to Capital Hilton

Saturday, March 4

  • 7:00 am – 8:00 pm

    Breakfast

    Senate and Congressional Rooms, Capital Hilton

  • 8:00 am – 8:15 am

    Shuttles depart

    Capital Hilton to National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 8:30 pm – 8:40 am

    Welcome remarks

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 8:40 am – 10:15 am

    Morning panel discussions at the National Academy of Sciences Building moderated by Ted Koppel — What is the Extent of the Problem? • Richard Clarke, Cybersecurity Expert and Former Counterterrorism Czar • Robert Lee, CEO, Dragos, Inc. • Liam O’Murchu, Director, Security Technology & Response group at Symantec • Kevin Mandia, CEO, FireEye, Inc

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 10:15 am – 10:45 am

    Networking break

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 10:45 am – 11:45 am

    Morning panel discussions (continued)

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 11:45 am – 12:00 pm

    Group photo

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

    Luncheon

    United States Institute of Peace

  • 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm

    Afternoon panel discussions at the National Academy of Sciences Building moderated by Ted Koppel — How Should We Think About Securing Critical Infrastructure? • General Michael V. Hayden, Former Director of the CIA and the NSA • Dr. Douglas Maughan, Division Director, Cybersecurity Division, DHS/S&T/HSARPA • Tim Conway, Technical Director, ICS and SCADA programs at the SANS Institute • Jeremiah Grossman, Professional Hacker and Chief of Security Strategy, CentinelOne • Steve Orrin, Federal Chief Technologist, Intel Corp

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm

    Networking break

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm

    Afternoon panel discussions (continued)

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm

    Closing remarks

    National Academy of Sciences Building

  • 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm

    Shuttles depart

    National Academy Sciences Building to the Capital Hilton

  • 6:30 pm – 6:45 pm

    Shuttles depart

    Capital Hilton to the Newseum

  • 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm

    Reception, dinner, and celebration

    Newseum

  • 11:00 pm – 11:15 pm

    Shuttles depart

    Newseum to the Capital Hilton

Sunday, March 5

  • 8:00 am – 8:45 am

    Breakfast

    Presidential Ballroom, Capital Hilton

  • 8:45 am – 9:45 am

    Breakout sessions

    Presidential Ballroom, Capital Hilton

  • 9:45 am – 10:15 am

    Break and time to check-out

    Capital Hilton

  • 10:15 am – 12:00 pm

    Recommendation presentations

    Presidential Ballroom, Capital Hilton

  • 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

    Box lunch

    Presidential Ballroom, Capital Hilton

  • 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

    Shuttle transfers

    Capital Hilton to DCA/IAD

Venues