Stanford CIS
Richard Forno

Richard Forno

Dr. Richard Forno is a Principal Lecturer in the UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, where he directs the UMBC Graduate Cybersecurity Program and serves as the Assistant Director of UMBC's Center for Cybersecurity. His twenty-year career spans the government, military, and private sector, including helping build a formal cybersecurity program for the US House of Representatives, serving as the first Chief Security Officer for the InterNIC, and co-founding the CyberMaryland conference. Richard was also one of the early researchers on the subject of "cyberwarfare" and he remains a longtime commentator on the influence of Internet technology upon society.

His multiple interdisciplinary research and professional interests include information age conflict (broadly defined), cybersecurity operations, risk communication, and the social shaping of technology -- specifically, contextual issues related to resiliency and autonomy in networked societies.

Richard received his Ph.D. from Curtin University of Technology in 2010, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in international relations from American University and Salve Regina University respectively. From 2005-12, he was a Visiting Scientist at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, serving as a course instructor for the CERT Coordination Center.

Selected Recent Publications:

Forno, R. Hack, Play, Win: Lessons Learned Running the Maryland Cyber Challenge (USENIX ;login; V40(6) - 2015)

Forno, R. Looking Within to Improve American Cybersecurity (USENIX ;login; V37(4) - 2012)

Forno, R. Credibility Lost: How Hollywood's Own Reality Undermines Its Position on Internet Policy (2012)

Hrabowski, F. (UMBC President) and Forno, R. (2010) “Higher Education Must Lead in Cybersecurity” Montgomery County Gazette (editorial)

Recent articles

Blog

Lessons from the Israel pager attack

Electronic pagers across Lebanon exploded simultaneously on Sept. 17, 2024, killing 12 and wounding more than 2,700. The following day, another wave of expl…

Blog

Thoughts about Volt Typhoon

What is Volt Typhoon? A cybersecurity expert explains the Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Bal…

Blog

Regarding Twitter, Musk, and Trust

As a cybersecurity professional, I see plenty of risks that worry me as Twitter becomes a private company – but one in particular stands out more than any other…