FBI & KU Cybersecurity Conference

Daniel Hein is Principal Security Architect at Garmin International, with extensive experience in architecture and operations of consumer-facing systems. Daniel's experience includes several years developing software for mobile and embedded devices. During his career, he has worked on a wide range of products ranging from specialized satellite instruments to consumer software, and at multiple levels, from drivers to HMI. Daniel has designed/implemented/tested/maintained drivers, client-server protocols, authentication systems, and audio codecs. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Kansas. Daniel’s academic research focused on software quality attributes, improving software security, and his dissertation was focused on predicting the severity of software vulnerabilities

Enoch Laudie is the Private Sector Coordinator and a Special Agent assigned to the Kansas City Cyber Crimes Task force in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  As a Special Agent, he has investigated Internet-related crimes with a primary focus on computer intrusions.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Networking and Data Communications at Utah Valley University and holds many professional Information Security certifications.  Prior to the FBI, Enoch helped create several telecom and internet startups in an engineering role. 

Dr. Bill Nicely completed a 32-year career in public education in 2020, serving eleven years as Kearney School District (KSD) superintendent and five years as a small school superintendent in Leeton, Missouri. He is a former high school principal and assistant principal at Sedalia Smith-Cotton High School and began his career in education teaching high school chemistry and physics in Louisburg, KS. In addition, Dr. Nicely has served as an education consultant and is currently an Educator in Residence for Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, assisting with the greater Kansas City Real World Learning collaborative. His K-12 experience covered a diverse range of student backgrounds and socio-economic settings.

Advocating for greater college and career student readiness, he served seven years as vice president of the Northland Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) board. He served two years as co-chair of the Northland Education and Business Alliance (NEBA). Dr. Nicely also served on the advisory board of the Kansas City STEM Alliance and was legislative chair for the Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City as well as a past president. He served a year as president and five years as board member of the Kansas-Missouri Superintendent Leadership Forum as well as two years of service on the Department of Elementary Secondary Education Commissioner’s Advisory Council. 

John Symons is Professor of Philosophy at The University of Kansas and Director of the Center for Cyber Social Research.  His research areas include philosophy of technology and general philosophy of science. He is author of 11 books or edited volumes and over 60 articles and book chapters.  John is committed to interdisciplinary cooperation in research and teaching and his research has appeared in computer science, mathematics, and applied economics journals in addition to philosophy journals.  He was past editor-in-chief of Synthese (2002-11), the leading journal in epistemology and philosophy of science and has served as editorial board member of numerous interdisciplinary journals and journals of philosophy. He currently serves as executive editor of Philosophy and Technology and editor-in-chief of Global Philosophy.  John is a regular participant in Complexity Science programs and groups internationally and has served as visiting faculty at Peking University and The University of Lisbon. He is a member of the Institut International de Philosophie (IIP) and is an associate member of the Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des science et des techniques (IHPST), Paris 1. In 2022 he was elected a member of the International Academy for Philosophy of Science (AIPS).   John has experience as Department Chair in two universities including a stint as Chair of the Department of Economics at KU.  He has successfully led efforts to secure large extramural research funding as part of the Science of Security Lablet.

Special Agent George Schultzel entered on duty in July of 2010 and was assigned to the New York Field Office. Over the course of his career, SA Schultzel has investigated complex criminal computer intrusions, nation state adversarial action, and cyber terrorism. SA Schultzel is currently serving as the Supervisory Special Agent of the Cyber Task Force in the Kansas City Field Office.

Eric Kerr is a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is also a member of the Cyber Task Force (CTF). Mr. Kerr is the lead investigator for investigations focusing on nation state hacking and cyber espionage originating from China and North Korea. Mr. Kerr is the lead investigator for the Maui Ransomware investigation. Mr. Kerr has also lead investigations covering dark web market places and exploit kit development and use. Lastly, Mr. Kerr holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Cyber Security and Homeland Security from Illinois State University and Pennsylvania State University, respectively. 

Caleb Marquis is an intelligence analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is also a member of the Cyber Task Force (CTF) and Virtual Currency Response Team (VCRT). He provides cyber threat intelligence for nation-state hacks and cyber espionage emanating from China, North Korea, and other adversaries. Mr. Marquis is one of the FBI’s experts in cryptocurrency-related cybercrime, including ransomware and cryptocurrency theft. He has led cryptocurrency training for overseas engagements, including in Ukraine and Romania. Lastly, Mr. Marquis holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in security studies from Johns Hopkins University and Westminster College, respectively. 

Michael Barnhart is prior Army Special Operations, with 18 years of intelligence experience and currently specializing in North Korean affairs. He is the lead for North Korean operations within Mandiant and is responsible for full spectrum intelligence operations regarding this nation-state.

Bryan Cruz is a prior Army Cyber Operations Specialist, with 10 years of cyber security experience. Specializing in cyber network defense operations and cyber threat intelligence. He is the manager of Mandiant’s Synthesis & Advanced Research Team and has a historical focus on North Korean threats.

Mark Schmidtberger is an Information Security Manager with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. His responsibilities include Governance/Risk/Compliance, 3rd Party Risk Management and Metrics and Reporting. Prior to the Federal Reserve, he worked in Sprint’s Internal Audit division where he was responsible for Enterprise Risk Management, Audit Division Program Scheduling and Management of the Information Technology Audit group. Previous responsibilities have included Application Development, Database Management, Distributed Systems Management, Storage Management and Audit Management.

Schmidtberger has a Bachelor of Science degree from Marymount College in Business Administration and Computer Science. He holds certifications from ISC2 (CISSP) and ISACA (CISA, CRISC, CDPSE).

Jason is the CEO of Invary, a cybersecurity startup that offers a new layer of defense utilizing Runtime Integrity.  Invary's core technology was invented by the NSA, and influenced by research performed by Dr. Perry Alexander at the University of Kansas.  Prior to AttestD Jason was a Vice President at Matterport, and was responsible for their 3D data platform.   Jason has launched a consumer facing IoT platform for Lowe's and numerous software products for Motorola in his past.   He is a native Kansan, and enjoys playing the drums. 

Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub has been with the FBI for 18 years and has worked on a variety of investigations during his career, including counterterrorism, cyber crimes, and counterintelligence matters. He served the FBI in El Paso, Philadelphia, Washington, and Kansas City.