School of Public Policy Hires Cybersecurity Industry Leader

The School of Public Policy has hired Sergio Caltagirone, a senior cybersecurity practitioner, researcher, and educator with experience at the National Security Agency and Microsoft, to join its cybersecurity policy faculty. 

Caltagirone will join the School in the Fall as a professor of the practice. He will teach the capstone course in the Master of Science in Cybersecurity policy track program and a new course on cyber threat response and attribution. 

“Sergio’s impressive experience as a cybersecurity industry practitioner and as an innovative educator at the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic School and the Threat Intelligence Academy will further strengthen the School’s already deep expertise in cybersecurity policy education,” said Cassidy R. Sugimoto, Tom and Marie Patton Chair. 

“He is a globally recognized leader in this space who will elevate our ability to deliver top-notch cybersecurity policy education to Georgia Tech students through the interdisciplinary in-person Master of Science in Cybersecurity and the Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity,” she said. 

Caltagirone holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Portland and a master’s degree in computer science and information assurance from the University of Idaho. There, he built the university’s Reconfigurable Attack-Defend Cybersecurity Laboratory and developed student network security labs to support coursework. 

He was one of the NSA’s first cyber threat intelligence analysts and is credited for discovering more than a dozen international cyber threats of importance to U.S. national security. 

While at the NSA, he helped develop the “diamond model” of threat assessment, which provides a framework for analyzing cyber incidents based on adversary, infrastructure, capability, and victim.  

The model is already in use in the School. Students in PUBP 6725 — Information Security Policies use the model to analyze cyber threats. That interdisciplinary course is required of all students enrolled in Georgia Tech’s graduate cybersecurity degree programs. 

At Microsoft, Caltagirone expanded a small threat intelligence practice into a worldwide workforce that protected the company’s frequently attacked Xbox gaming service, the Outlook 365 email platform, and other assets. 

He is also a former vice president of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Dragos and founder of the Threat Intelligence Academy, an online source for cybersecurity training.  

Caltagirone has also worked with the Global Emancipation Network, a volunteer team of engineers, developers, and data scientists who use data analytics to counter human trafficking. 

With the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the School of Public Policy is a cornerstone contributor to cybersecurity education at Georgia Tech through the cybersecurity policy option in the master’s programs. 

Other courses include PUBP 6111 — Internet and Public Policy, PUBP 6540 — Public Policy for the Digital World, PUBP 6501 — Information Policy and Management, and PUBP 6502 — Information and Communications Technology Policy. 

For more information about the MS Cybersecurity program, visit the program website.