![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Stephen-Dennis-300x300.jpg\")
Stephen Dennis<\/strong>, a cybersecurity analytics expert and Visiting Fellow<\/a> at IDSC, traveled to Mexico City in October to participate in the 2022 Cybersecurity and Intelligence Congress at the Jenkins Graduate School<\/a> of the Universidad de la Am\u00e9ricas Puebla<\/a> (UDLAP). Dennis delivered a keynote speech about the current state of cybersecurity and met with intelligence officials from the Mexican government and military.<\/p>\n“The Mexico agreement will serve as a model for future partnerships with universities.”<\/h4>\n
The two universities are now crafting an inter-institutional agreement that will allow both sides to share expertise, manpower, and research funding in what Dennis calls a mutually beneficial relationship. In September 2022, hackers infiltrated Mexico\u2019s Defense Ministry and uncovered an estimated six terabytes of sensitive information about the armed forces. But Dennis made clear that the upcoming agreement with UDLAP does not simply mean IDSC is coming to the rescue. \u201cThere is no engagement that\u2019s one-sided. We can\u2019t show up and say, \u2018Here\u2019s your solution, have a nice day,\u2019\u201d Dennis said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot that Mexico will offer. There\u2019s a lot of diversity that will come to the table from a technical perspective, from a policy perspective, and I think we\u2019re going to learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we build the cybersecurity analytics capabilities at the University of Miami, we are looking forward to Stephen\u2019s leadership in coalescing critical research topics and attracting appropriate resources to accelerate our impact to global cybersecurity,\u201d Yesha said.<\/p>\n Dennis said one of the key components of the U.S.-Mexico partnership will be cyber-physical security, the ever-growing field of preventing hackers from sabotaging physical infrastructure like power stations, water plants, transportation systems, telecommunications networks, and other critical systems. With both countries sharing so much of that infrastructure, Dennis said securing Mexico\u2019s systems will help protect the U.S., and vice versa.<\/p>\n Improving Health Disparities<\/strong><\/p>\n The agreement between IDSC and UDLAP has a second focus: using advanced computing to improve health disparities that exist in both countries. While that may not appear to overlap with cybersecurity, Dennis said securing people\u2019s personal health information will become increasingly important in the years to come. As people become more accustomed to telehealth and companies produce more internet-connected devices that track people\u2019s health, Dennis said securing all that information presents a monumental challenge. That challenge was made clear during the hack of Mexico\u2019s Defense Ministry\u2014hackers also uncovered details of President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s ongoing heart problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dennis said he\u2019s looking forward to returning to Mexico City to finalize the agreement with IDSC and get to work. He said his Mexican colleagues are \u201cprimed and poised\u201d to start working. He\u2019s already thinking of other universities and private companies that can help. The only roadblock remaining? His Spanish. Dennis wants to create training seminars for English-speaking researchers who will participate with the Mexicans, and English classes for his Mexican colleagues, focusing on the wide variety of technical terms that both sides will need to understand.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to be cross-border, working on common infrastructure, it\u2019d be really nice to have a common language,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Yelena](\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Yelena-Yesha-250x250-2.jpg\")
Yelena Yesha<\/strong>, Director of IDSC\u2019s AI and Machine Learning Unit, said the Mexico agreement will serve as a model for future partnerships with universities, government agencies, and private industry in other Latin American countries and beyond. Dennis is particularly well-positioned to lead that effort, she said, because of his long career in advanced computing and automation, most recently leading technology collaborations across governmental agencies that require robust cybersecurity technologies for thousands of users. For example, he recently concluded a stint as Technology Center Director for Advanced Computing at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security<\/a>, which has over 240,000 employees.<\/p>\n“One of the key components will be preventing hackers from sabotaging physical infrastructure.”<\/h4>\n
![\"UDLAP](\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/UDLAP.jpg\")
<\/p>\n