Cyber Security Expert Terry V. Benzel Receives Joint Appointment

Contact: Dagmar King, (213) 740-6411 or dagmar.king@marshall.usc.edu

Terry V. Benzel, a nationally recognized expert in computer security and
cyber terrorism, has been named a research scientist at the University of
Southern California’s Institute for Critical Information Infrastructure
Protection. ICIIP is an Organized Research Unit and Center of Excellence
at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.

At the Institute for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection, Ms.
Benzel will be responsible for helping to develop Systemic Security
Management as an open source body of work and further develop its
public/private partnerships in information security research. “Terry brings
a great combination of real world business experiences and world class
technology research to our already impressive team and helps establish
ICIIP as a truly collaborative effort between business management,
engineering and technology as we work to close the gap between the current
corporate cyber security risk profile and what is needed to protect our
nation’s critical information infrastructure,” said Charlie Meister,
ICIIP’s executive director.

Ms. Benzel is also the deputy director of the Computer Networks Division at
USC’s Information Sciences Institute, part of the Viterbi School of
Engineering. At ISI, Ms. Benzel has been leading an effort to develop ways
to protect computer networks by building sealed-off computer “test beds”
where researchers can safely unleash “risky” code and viral programs to
test their effects and vulnerabilities. Her work at the ISI is funded by
the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation
under a joint program called the Cyber Defense Technology Experimental
Research project, or DETER.

Before joining ISI, Ms. Benzel was a divisional vice president at Network
Associates, Inc. where she was responsible for all aspects of the 125-staff
advanced research organization performing government-funded research and
development for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA,
part of the U.S. Department of Defense, is responsible for the development
of new technology for use by the military. Before joining NAI, she was
director of the Los Angeles office of Trusted Information Systems.

Ms. Benzel has served as an advisor to government and industry on R&D
strategy and roadmap development, providing guidance to the White House
Office of Science Technology and Policy, Critical Infrastructure Assurance
Office, Department of Defense and industry alliances.

In 2001, she testified on “Cyber Security — How Can We Protect American
Computer Networks from Attack: The Importance of Research and Development,”
before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science.

She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics from Boston
University and an Executive MBA from UCLA.

The Institute for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (ICIIP) is
an Organized Research Unit and Center of Excellence of the Center for
Telecom Management at the Marshall School of Business, University of
Southern California whose mission is to close the gap between the current
corporate cyber security risk profile and what is needed to protect our
nation’s critical information infrastructure. ICIIP’s strategy is to create
business value for investments in information infrastructure security
through public/private partnerships, education, and research while
providing maximum insight and objectivity. ICIIP developed and conducts
education and training curricula on “Systemic Security Management –
Security that pays for itself” targeting C-level decision makers.

The Center for Telecom Management at the University of Southern
California’s Marshall School of Business is an industry-sponsored center
devoted to research and education to help the networked digital industry
and its customers.

About the Information Sciences Institute

Founded in 1972, and one of the
birthplaces of the Internet, ISI is one of the world’s leading research
centers in the fields of computer science and information technology,
carrying on more than $60 million of funded research annually. Part of the
University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, which is
ranked seventh nationally by the US News & World Report, ISI’s research
strengths include artificial intelligence, computational science and
computer architecture, computer security, electronic commerce,
human-centered support systems, embedded systems, integrated circuit design
and fabrication, Internet communications and advanced networking, natural
language technology, parallel and grid computing, robotics, and systems
integration. ISI currently has more than 300 researchers, graduate
students, and staff working at two locations, in Marina del Rey,
California, and Arlington, Virginia.

About the USC Marshall School of Business

USC’s Marshall School of Business
provides the foundation for a process of lifetime learning and business
practice. Both U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek rank Marshall’s
programs among the top 30. For more than 80 years, Marshall has provided
world-class research and scholarship, preparing students for the future of
business. Marshall, with its many research centers and the Leventhal School
of Accounting, focuses on a core set of skills and on strengthening its
position as a global center of business education and research at the
graduate, undergraduate and executive levels.