Stanford CIS
Richard Forno

Richard Forno

Dr. Richard Forno is a teaching professor at UMBC where he directs their graduate cybersecurity program and serves as the Assistant Director of the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute.

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

CISPA is back again. (Yes, again.)

Last evening we learned that Rep. Dutch Ruppersburger (D-MD) plans to again reintroduce the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)…

Blog

USA FREEDOM Act stalls

Last evening the Senate voted 58-42 to delay implementation of the USA FREEDOM Act with the goal of reforming, albeit modestly, America's controversial dome…

Blog

PCLOB: Defining Privacy Interests, 2/2

Panel 2 of today's PCLOB public hearing explored privacy interests within a counterterrorism context with an emphasis on what impact technology has upon it.…

Blog

PCLOB: Defining Privacy Interests, 1/2

Today I am attending the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board hearing on "Defining Privacy" here in Washington, DC.  Four sessions are planned…

Blog

NSA Revelations At-A-Glance

For those following or researching the NSA disclosures by Edward Snowden (or privacy issues in general) this interactive chart will be a useful tool both for re…