This session outlines how someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) offers a unique skillset that can be very helpful in the cybersecurity field.
A higher percentage of hackers show signs or are already diagnosed ASD than compared to most civilians who are not hackers and/or do not work in the security industry.
Many organizations see hiring a young person with any type of mental illness as a gamble, including someone with ASD. In this talk, we are going to give three different perspectives on the positive and challenging elements of hiring, managing, and enabling an ASD employee to thrive, applying their particular characteristics to the tasks associated with cybersecurity.
Hear from a hiring manager, a security professional that has been on the positive side of the spectrum for years, and a psychologist that has researched Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the specific behaviors that can be helpful for the corporate and/or intelligence sector.
Rhett Greenhagen is a Senior Security Researcher for McAfee's Advanced Programs Group focused on threat research, machine learning, and causing various things to combust. Rhett has a background as a hacker in both exploit development and penetration testing. His career has always been in service to his country, from serving as lead forensic investigator at the Department of Defense's largest data center and cyber counter intelligence operator for the United States intelligence community, to profiling foreign computer actors based on their malicious code for the U.S. Department of Justice. From all of these accomplishments, Rhett has also been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome since age 12 and is able to give expert advice on how to better the world as well as security community while having Autism.
Dr. Stacy Thayer has over 20 years' experience working with professionals in the technical and security industry, and a PhD in Clinical and Organizational/Business Psychology. Her clinical research has explored online communication as it relates to depression and anxiety, and factors that contribute to job satisfaction in the technology sector, and on burnout in the security industry. Her work in organizational and business psychology focuses on bridging the communication gap between technical and nontechnical working professionals. She is passionate about creating a positive and thriving working environment that will help support individual strengths and successes. Thayer also was the Founder of SOURCE Conferences in Boston, Seattle, Barcelona, and Dublin before it was acquired in 2014.
Casey Hurt is the Chief of Information Assurance at the Department of Defense.