Dan Manson, professor of computer information systems and director of the Center for Information Assurance, participated in a cybersecurity panel discussion in September that attracted more than 100 information technology professionals from throughout the country.

The discussion was part of a larger event in Menlo Park hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Infosec Technology Transition Council of the Stanford Research Institute. Manson and other panelists discussed the proliferation of cybersecurity competitions across the country in which students either pretend to be computer hackers or fend off hackers. Manson is the main organizer for the Western Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and for the U.S. Cyber Challenge California Cyber Camp, both held at Cal Poly Pomona. The competitions expose and promote cybersecurity careers to talented students.

Business and cyber defense competition alumnus, Jeffrey Henbest, ’09, also participated in the panel to give a student’s perspective on cybersecurity competitions. Since graduation, Henbest has been a software engineer for the Boeing Co.