The Bush School’s Cyber Policy, Strategy, and Security Program was established in 2018 in response to student demand and growth in the professional opportunities available to Bush School graduates in cyber policy and cybersecurity. It is headed up by Gen. J. Kevin McLaughlin, USAF (Ret.), whose last post before retiring from the Air Force was deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command. The Program prepares students in the Master of International Affairs and Master of International Policy degree programs for professional careers in government and the nongovernmental sector in the cyber arena. Students can avail themselves of the growing number of courses offered in the Bush School on cyber policy and cybersecurity as well as a full complement of courses on the topic in the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Mays School of Business. Program faculty are active in a number of research areas, including critical infrastructure development and defense, cyber resilience, cyber-deterrence and coercion, international frameworks for cyber norms, non-state institutions, and governance mechanisms in the management of internet security operations. The Program has established a strong partnership with senior officials in the Department of Defense and U.S. Cyber Command on the government side and with transnational industry groups and NGO’s as well.

Bush School graduates are already at work in the cyber field, including at U.S. Cyber Command, the U.S. Army Cyber Corps, and the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company. Teams of Bush School students have participated in a number of national cyber competitions, including at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, (every year since 2016); New York University; Columbia University; and the University of Texas.

All students in the Master of International Affairs degree program are required to complete at least two concentrations as part of their degree requirements. The Cyber Policy concentration consists of three courses chosen from those listed below, providing that one of the three is a required core course:

• INTA 689 Introduction to Cyber for the Non-Technical (Sowell) – CORE COURSE
• INTA 689 Data Science for Policy Analysis (Sowell)
• INTA 699 Cyberspace Implications for National Security (McLaughlin)
• INTA 689 Internet Infrastructure: Platforms and Politics (Sowell)
• INTA 689 Advanced Cyber Policy (Sowell)
• CSCE 402 Law & Policy Cybersecurity (Dewitte)
• ISTM 635 Business Information Security (Sen)
• ISTM 645 IT Security Controls (Whitten)
• ISTM 655 Security Management & Compliance (Whitten)

Capstone courses (INTA 670) related to cyber policy and cybersecurity will also be offered. Both General McLaughlin and Dr. Sowell will be offering capstones in the 2019-2020 academic year and going forward.

The School is in the process of obtaining approvals from Texas A&M University and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a certificate in cyber policy. That certificate will encompass courses from the Bush School, the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Mays Business School. We anticipate approval of the certificate for fall semester 2020.

J. Kevin McLaughlin

Professor of the Practice

MA in Space Systems Management, Webster University
Lt. Gen. J. Kevin McLaughlin., USAF (Ret.), is Director of the School’s new Cyber Policy, Security, and Strategy Program. His last position before his retirement from the Air Force was Deputy Commander of United States Cyber Command. There he directed the effort to defend the nation’s largest information network, provide cyberspace options to commanders, and protect critical U.S. infrastructure from cyberattacks. During his more than thirty years in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Lieutenant General McLaughlin held a number of leadership positions, including serving as the first Commander of the USAF’s Space Development and Test Wing; Vice Commander, USAF Warfare Center; Deputy Director of Global Operations for U.S. Strategic Command; Commander, Air Forces Cyber; and Commander, 24th Air Force. He is currently a member of the Strategic Advisory Group for the U.S. Strategic Command. He also advises public and private companies, nonprofits, and government organizations on cyberspace, space, and national security issues. Along with his master’s degree in space systems management, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy.

Jesse Sowell

Assistant Professor

Ph. D. MIT 2015
Dr. Sowell’s doctorate from MIT is in the field of technology, management, and policy. Additionally, he holds a master’s degree in technology and policy from MIT, masters’ degrees in criminal justice and computer science from Michigan State University, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Clemson University. His research focuses on understanding the transnational, non-state institutions and governance mechanisms shaping the management and security of resources critical to Internet operations vis a vis conventional domestic and interstate governance mechanisms. This includes studies on infrastructure resource policy, cybersecurity, and operational epistemic communities’ role in informing public policy. His research and teaching interests include commons-based rights, resource management, and theory; private regimes and regulation; security indicators and metrics; and the use of mixed methods for security metric development. In terms of industry engagement, Dr. Sowell is a Senior Advisor at the Messaging, Malware, and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG), advising M3AAWG on outreach efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia Pacific, and Africa. He is also the cochair of the Internet of Things (IoT) Special Interest Group. Dr. Sowell advises the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) on issues related to the impact of the EU’s General Data Protection Directive (GDPR) on cybersecurity operations, recently coordinating the "Symposium on Policy Impediments to eCrime Data Exchange" for APWG.EU. Before arriving at the Bush School, Dr. Sowell was a Cybersecurity Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

For more information on the Program on Cyber Policy, Strategy and Security, please contact Bush School Admissions, J. Kevin McLaughlin, or Jesse Sowell.