USC ISI Cybersecurity Expert Terry Benzel Elected to IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors

by Rishbha Bhagi

Terry Benzel, director of ISI’s Networking and Cybersecurity Division

Terry Benzel, director of the Networking and Cybersecurity Division at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), was elected to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers‘ (IEEE) Computer Society Board of Governors in October. Benzel will commence her 3-year term on the Board on January 1, 2021.

“We’re thrilled that Terry Benzel has been elected to serve on our 2021-2023 Board of Governors,” said Leila De Floriani, 2020 IEEE Computer Society President. “With Terry’s goals to contribute new initiatives and strategies to increase diversity and inclusion for the Computer Society, we look forward to her participation as a Board member and as a member of our Diversity & Inclusion Committee. With her engagement, we will expand the path of the Computer Society’s success.”

The Board of Governors directs the IEEE Computer Society, and establishes strategy and guidance to the Society’s organizational entities on a policy level. Benzel’s election to the Board comes on the heels of her advancement to Senior Member earlier this year.

“My goal is to contribute to new initiatives and strategies for the Computer Society as it moves into the future,” said Benzel. “Conferences and professional publications are undergoing significant changes as the community works to increase rapid and increasingly open information dissemination—conferences also must work to remain relevant and to experiment with new formats.”

As examples, Benzel pointed to AI and cybersecurity conferences that are experiencing explosive growth and are taking new approaches to paper submissions, reviews and presentations. These changes, Benzel said, present the Computer Society with opportunities to help the technical committees to revamp conference operating procedures.

Benzel also aims to work on strategies to increase diversity and inclusion in the Computer Society and its activities. “In the coming decades, the nation’s racial and ethnic mix will look quite different than it does now. The Computer Society will need to change in order to be relevant and representative of the changing demographics.” Benzel noted that her efforts in working to increase diversity and inclusion across industry, academia, and professional societies will be valuable in these endeavors.

Along with her prolific work in the science of cyber security experimentation and next generation distributed experimentation methodologies, Benzel has a long history of working with IEEE. She was the Vice Chair and Chair of the IEEE Computer Society TC on Security and Privacy from 1992-1995 and Treasurer from 2009-2012. She served on the organizing committees of the IEEE Security and Privacy (S&P) Conferences since 1988.

In addition to these roles, Benzel has been an Associate Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Security and Privacy magazine since 2009. A senior member of the editorial board, she curates special issues highlighting the IEEE Computer Society Conferences, such as the S&P Conference, the SPW Workshops, and the European S&P Conference.

As director of USC ISI’s Networking and Cybersecurity division, Benzel leads several major cybersecurity research initiatives, including cyber-education, cyber-experimentation ecosystems and tools, and strategic global partnering for cybersecurity experimentation of the future (CEF). Benzel is also the technical project lead for ISI’s award-winning cyber DETER (DEfense Technology Experimental Research) testbed project, which creates next-generation cybersecurity technologies.

Published on December 12th, 2020

Last updated on May 12th, 2021

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