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FIU experts available to discuss cyberattacks

FIU experts available to discuss cyberattacks

December 18, 2020 at 3:00pm

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today said that they suspect Russian hackers are behind ongoing cyberattacks on government agencies, private companies and other entities.

Members of the FIU Media Relations team are available to assist in contacting the experts:

  • Maydel Santana, associate vice president: 305-348-1555, santanam@fiu.edu
  • Lourdes Perez, media relations specialist: 305-348-6944,louperez@fiu.edu
  • Elizabeth Calzadilla, director of marketing and communications, College of Engineering & Computing: 786-338-3346,ecalzadi@fiu.edu

Cybersecurity 

Alex Crowther
Visiting Professor
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy 
Prior to coming to FIU, Dr. Crowther worked on cyber and European issues at the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, D.C. and continues to lecture on cybersecurity at the Organization of American States (OAS) as well cyber law/crime/terror at NDU’s College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC). 
Emaill: gcrowthe@fiu.edu

Nagarajan Prabakar
Associate Professor, School of Computing and Information Sciences
Undergraduate Director, Cybersecurity program
College of Engineering & Computing
Prabakar has more than 30 years in the field of computing and extensive expertise in the field of cybersecurity. Prabakar can discuss what security vulnerabilities within the U.S. network allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent future attacks.

Email:prabakar@cis.fiu.edu
Phone: 305-348-2033

Selcuk Uluagac
Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Uluagac is a cybersecurity professor who currently leads the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab (CSL).

His research focuses on cybersecurity and privacy with an emphasis on its practical and applied aspects.
Email: suluagac@fiu.edu
Phone: 305-348-3710

Political Science 

Brian Fonseca
Director
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy 
Fonseca serves as the institute’s technical expert for national security and foreign policy. He has been featured in local and national media analyzing the 2016 U.S. general elections. He joined FIU after serving as the senior research manager for socio-cultural analysis at United States Southern Command. Fonseca holds degrees in international business and international relations from FIU and has attended Sichuan University in Chengdu, China and the National Defense University in Washington D.C. From 1997 to 2004, he served in the United States Marine Corps and facilitated the training of foreign military forces in both hostile theaters and during peacetime operations.

Office: 305-348-7420
Cell: 305-218-6323
Email: fonsecab@fiu.edu

Randy Pestana
Assistant Director
Research and Strategic Initiatives
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy 
Pestana specializes in international relations with a focus on U.S. foreign policy, electoral politics, global security and U.S.-Latin American relations. His work examines governance and security in the Western Hemisphere including U.S. national security strategy, civil-military relations and rule of law. Pestana is charged with leading the Gordon Institute’s 2016 Presidential Election coverage and has conducted numerous interviews with both local and national media. Pestana is an adjunct professor for the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs and the Honors College. He holds an M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with a graduate certificate in National Security Studies from FIU.
Office: 305-348-0114
Email: rpestana@fiu.edu

Russia 

Tatiana Kostadinova 
Professor
Politics and International Relations
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Kostadinova’s research and teaching interests include Central and Eastern European political institutions with a special emphasis on elections, electoral systems and electoral behavior; institutional reform; democratic transition; political corruption; comparative public policy; and public support for foreign policies. Kostadinova’s book  Political Corruption in Eastern Europe: Politics After Communism(2012) analyzes the emergence of corruption as a major obstacle to successful democratic transition. Kostadinova teaches undergraduate courses in Russian and Eastern European politics, electoral behavior, and research methods, and graduate courses in institutional choice, democratic transitions, political parties, and advanced research. She has also conducted field work in Bulgaria, Serbia and Macedonia. Kostadinova has authored and co-authored articles, book chapters and book reviews. Kostadinova can talk about U.S. diplomatic relations with Russia. She is fluent in English, Bulgarian and Russian.
Office: 
305-348-4493

David Kramer
Senior Fellow
Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Kramer is an internationally known expert on Russia and U.S.-Russia relations, the Ukraine and human rights, Kramer is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under President George W. Bush. Kramer is available to speak on all aspects of U.S. foreign policy toward Russia, including Russian cyberattacks, the spread of “fake news,” and Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria. He has written extensively for The Washington Post,  Politico,  Foreign Policy and  The American Interest.
Office:
 305-348-7266
Email: 
david.kramer@fiu.edu