Micro-Seminar: Hack The Planet - Cyber Investigations Where Everything Gets Breached PART ONE

Micro-Seminars have two parts. Attendance to both parts is required. Registering for the PART ONE session will automatically enroll you in the PART TWO session on Friday.

Part 1: Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm (PST)
Part 2: Friday, August 23, 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30 am (PST)

Few modern hackers live in their parents' basements… they are now well-funded criminal organizations that likely have ties to government intelligence agencies. We have moved from a world where a disruption of the internet meant that we could no longer access our favorite chatrooms to now being reliant upon internet-controlled systems to provide daily necessities - from a favorite phone app to a computer controlling an oil pipeline, if it is connected to the internet, it can be, or has already been compromised by an adversary. And the COVID and post-COVID work from home new-normal has only made things worse. In fact, modern warfare is conducted in cyberspace, and the line between military, government and civilian systems has blurred.

Day one of this micro-seminar will be a crash course in how we got here, how bad things are, and how they will get worse.

On day two we will discuss real case studies including protecting yourself from social engineering schemes along with a live demo on what happens when you click on one of those malicious e-mail attachments. We will also discuss careers in cyber security, digital forensics, and cyber investigations and the programs at USC that can prepare you for these careers.

This micro-seminar is open and encouraged for all students, since as you will quickly learn that cyber security is an interdisciplinary problem and not limited to Engineering. There is no technical background necessary. Come with an open mind and ready to learn!

Lead By: Professor Pierson Clair

Pierson Clair is an experienced incident response leader, certified digital forensic examiner, technical security consultant, and cyber security educator. As a digital forensic investigator and incident responder for over 15 years, he has tracked nation state and financially motivated hackers through some of the most complex networks in the world, helping organizations mitigate risk and ultimately ejecting those threat actors. Mr. Clair’s unique forensic and cyber security experience includes working with federal, state, and local law enforcement and federal intelligence agencies. He has provided extensive guidance to private sector clients and is currently a Managing Director with the global investigations firm Kroll.

A USC Adjunct Faculty member since 2012, he joined USC’s Faculty full time in 2023. He teaches the very popular From Hackers to CEOs: Introduction to Information Security (ITP 125) along with ITP 375 Cyber Investigations, and Apple/iOS Computer Forensics (ITP 445). He is credited with creating the USC Interdisciplinary degree in International Security & Technology, the precursor to the popular Intelligence and Cyber Operations (INCO) degree.

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