Author Archives: Dr. Jamie Pinchot

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About Dr. Jamie Pinchot

Professor of Computer and Information Systems at Robert Morris University

Trends in Attacker Activity and Detection/Prevention Strategies – a TSC-sponsored Virtual Presentation

The Top Secret Colonials are holding a virtual presentation on Thursday, February 4th at 4:30 pm. Ryan Painter from FireEye will present on Attacker Activity and Detection/Prevention Strategies. Students will be able to earn 1 hour of SET credit for professional development. You will need to click the meeting link below to join. Names will be collected for those earning SET credit.

https://meet.google.com/wmk-vsby-tju

Title: Trends in Attacker Activity and Detection/Prevention Strategies

This presentation will focus on some of the latest trends in attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures across various industries. In addition to an examination of these attacker methodologies/defense evasions, strategies for detecting and preventing some of this activity will be discussed.

Ryan Painter is a Senior Consultant at FireEye Mandiant in their Strategic Services consulting division. In this role, Ryan is part of a team responsible for identifying opportunities for improvement in organizations’ information security management, operations, and strategy practices. Prior to joining Mandiant, he held security operations roles including VP and Interim Global Head of Vulnerability Management at BNY Mellon, Team Manager – Threat and Vulnerability Management at Highmark Health, and positions as a SOC and Vulnerability Analyst. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Cyber Forensics and Information Security from Robert Morris University and a Master of Science in Information Science from University of Pittsburgh, and is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. in Information Systems and Communications program at RMU. He also holds an adjunct lecturer appointment at West Virginia Northern Community College where he teaches courses in network security, networking, and CompTIA A+ prep. Ryan is based in New York City.

Netflix Founder to Fund 20 Full Scholarships at RMU in Technology and Mathematics Fields

Reed Hastings, founder and co-CEO of Netflix, will give $3 million to Robert Morris University to fund 20 full scholarships — including room, board, and textbooks — beginning with students entering the university in the fall of 2021. 

The RMU Next Century Scholarships will be open to applicants from underrepresented groups and others who demonstrate a commitment to empowering members of underrepresented groups, and are aimed at students who wish to pursue careers in technology or mathematics-related fields. Recipients will be able to choose from several degree programs at RMU, including:

  • Computer and Information Systems
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Analytics
  • Actuarial Science
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics and Predictive Analytics
  • Computer Science
  • User Experience User Interface Design (UX-UI)

Excerpt taken from the full article, which can be found here:
https://www.rmu.edu/about/news/netflix-founder-fund-20-full-scholarships-robert-morris-university

Dr. Peter Draus Wins 2021 TRETC Innovation in Education Award

Dr. Peter Draus was the recipient of the 2021 Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference (TRETC) Innovation in Education Award! The theme of this year’s TRETC Conference was Next Level EDTECH.

Dr. Draus was nominated for the award by an RMU student, Danielle Wicklund (’20), now a graduate of RMU, having earned her BS in Business Administration (Accounting) and MS in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance in December 2020 via RMU’s 4+1 program. Ms. Wicklund noted that “During this challenging semester, Dr. Draus went above and beyond his methods of teaching and made online learning interesting & enjoyable. Thus, I nominated him and submitted a letter of recommendation.”

The application for the award included a video that was produced by Ms. Wicklund and Dr. Draus. During the closing ceremony at the TRETC Conference on January 18, 2021, the video was showcased as Dr. Draus was announced as the recipient of the Professor – Innovation in Education Award. The video that was showcased can be viewed here:

Ms. Wicklund commented about the award, “Aside from acknowledging Dr. Draus’ mentorship skills, it also reflects the high caliber of professors at RMU (specifically in the Department of Computer and Information Systems and School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences). This award is for the Colonial nation. I am proud to be an RMU alum.”

Congratulations, Dr. Peter Draus, on this stellar accomplishment!

Support the Top Secret Colonials at All Star Sports Bar & Grill this Spring

Now through March 31st, All Star Sports Bar & Grill (www.allstarsportsbargrill.com) in Robinson Township will donate 10% of food sales to the Top Secret Colonials student organization at RMU. Take out option is available!

To contribute to this fundraiser, all you need to do is take a photo of your itemized receipt from All Stars and email it to paullet@rmu.edu before March 31st, and TSC will receive 10% as a donation!

RMU Recognized in Best Online Cyber Security BS Degree Programs by Learn.org

RMU was named as one of Learn.org’s 2020 Best Online Cyber Security Bachelor’s Degree Programs, ranking in at #7:
https://learn.org/articles/best_online_schools_for_cyber_security.html

You can learn more about RMU’s Cybersecurity B.S. program here:
https://www.rmu.edu/academics/undergraduate/cybersecurity-bs

CIS Faculty Win Awards at EDSIGCON 2020 Conference on Computing Education

Dr. Paul Kovacs
Dr. Wenli Wang

Dr. Paul Kovacs, University Professor of Computer and Information Systems, and Dr. Wenli Wang, Professor of Computer and Information Systems, received the Best Paper Award at the 2020 Conference on Computing Education (EDSIGCON) for a paper that they co-authored with Dr. Alan Peslak (Penn State University) and Dr. Lisa Kovalchick (California University of Pennsylvania). Their award-winning paper was titled “Effectiveness of Educational Delivery Modes: A Study in Computer Information Systems.”

Dr. Jamie Pinchot
Dr. Karen Paullet

Dr. Jamie Pinchot, Professor of Computer Information Systems, and Dr. Karen Paullet, Associate Professor of Computer and Information Systems, received the Distinguished Paper Award (Top 10%) at the same 2020 Conference on Computing Education (EDSIGCON) for their paper titled “Using Student Choice in Assignments to Create a Learner-Centered Environment for Online Courses.”

The EDSIGCON 2020 Conference was held virtually this year on November 4-7, 2020. Congratulations, faculty!

Dr. Pinchot and Dr. Cellante Win Distinguished Paper Award – Top 5% at CONISAR 2020

Dr. Jamie Pinchot
Dr. Donna Cellante

Dr. Jamie Pinchot and Dr. Donna Cellante, both Professors of Computer and Information Systems, received the Distinguished Paper Award (Top 5%) at the 2020 Conference on Information Systems Applied Research (CONISAR) for a paper that they co-authored. The CONISAR 2020 Conference was held virtually this year on November 4-7, 2020.

Dr. Pinchot and Dr. Cellante’s paper was titled “Privacy Concerns and Data Sharing Habits of Personal Fitness Information Collected via Activity Trackers.”

Congratulations on this award!

Security and Autonomous Vehicles Presentation – a TSC sponsored Event (November 19, 2020)

The Top Secret Colonials are holding another virtual presentation on Thursday, November 19th at 2:00 pm. Kevin Cody from Argo AI will be presenting on Security at Argo AI which tests autonomous (self-driving) vehicles in the Pittsburgh Area. Students will be able to earn 1 hour of SET credit for professional development. Below you will find the link to the Google Meet session. Names will be collected for those earning SET credit.

Google Meets Link:
https://meet.google.com/vfw-tpzd-hgp

Kevin Cody is a penetration tester at Argo AI, with experience working at several Fortune 500 enterprises. Although his particular expertise is geared toward hacking Web and Mobile applications, he is also experienced in the entire gamut from mainframes to embedded systems. Kevin is adamant on helping build-up developers through security, which can be seen in his involvement within OWASP or while speaking at events like CodeMash or BSides. In his spare time, Kevin can be found attempting to repair something (via online DIY videos), reading tech books, fishing, or simply spending time with his wife and children.

“Deepfakes” Presentation – a TSC-sponsored Event

The Top Secret Colonials are holding a virtual presentation and workshop on Thursday, October 29th at 2:00 pm.

The topic of the virtual presentation and workshop will be “Deepfakes”. Chet Hosmer, Chief Scientist and Sr. Vice President of WetStone Technologies, will be presenting. Chet will present during the first half of the session on Deepfakes where he will pull video from Twitter and run a Python script to determine if the video is real or has been altered. For the second half of the presentation you will be taught how to pull EXIF data from an image using python. Files will be sent prior to the presentation so that you can participate remotely. Below you will find a link to the Google Meet session. You will need to click the link to join. Names of everyone that joins the presentation will be collected and all (undergraduates) will receive credit for 1 hour of professional development SET credit.

https://meet.google.com/xps-fzsy-thb

Chet Hosmer is Chief Scientist, Sr. Vice President, and a co-founder of WetStone Technologies, Inc. Chet has been researching and developing technology and training surrounding data hiding, steganography and watermarking for over a decade. He has made numerous appearances to discuss the threat steganography poses including National Public Radio’s Kojo Nnamdi show, ABC’s Primetime Thursday, NHK Japan, CrimeCrime TechTV and ABC News Australia. He has also been a frequent contributor to technical and news stories relating to steganography and has been interviewed and quoted by IEEE, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Government Computer News, Salon.com, and Wired Magazine. Chet also serves as a visiting professor at Utica College where he teaches in the Cybersecurity Graduate program.