Keynote Speakers

Dr. Dana S. LaFon is a cyberpsychology expert who applies her psychological insights to threats in industry and national security. She has deep expertise in influence psychology, behavior change, disinformation campaigns, and cognitive strategies for countering influence techniques.

Dr. LaFon served as the 2023-2024 U.S. Intelligence Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. Inside the U.S. Intelligence Community, she developed cyberpsychology to thwart malicious threats by applying behavioral science in the cyber domain. As the founder and Chief of the NSA’s Office of Operational Psychology (OPSYCH), which is responsible for scaling psychological based insights and strategies to whole of government operations to counter some of the most egregious national security threats for over a decade, she has grown this domain into a mainstream tactic for cyber defense. 

Prior to leading the OPSYCH team, Dr. LaFon served as the Senior Behavioral Scientist in NSA’s Office of Cybersecurity and the NSA Threat Operations Center providing guidance on integrating the science of psychology into mission. Concurrent to her government service, Dr. LaFon has served as a graduate professor for over 15 years developing curricula and teaching courses in Psychological Profiling, Psychology of Counterintelligence/Counterterrorism, Forensic Psychology, and Cyberpsychology. 

She has served on numerous university senior advisory and dissertation boards, was senior government advisor on multiple IARPA research programs, and was topic champion manager on Foreign Malign Influence for the U.S. ODNI’s Analytical Exchange Program.

Dr. LaFon’s 25+ year career experience in multiple fields (i.e., Intelligence, psychology, education, systems analysis), settings (i.e., USIC, academia, state/local agencies, and private industry), and foreign partnerships has enabled her to apply a broad perspective to a wide array of threat issues to include remote threat psychological assessment and integrating models of behavior change for successful outcomes. 

Professor Ryan Ko
Chair and Director of UQCyber
Director of Research at the
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The University of Queensland

Professor Ryan Ko is a distinguished cybersecurity expert, currently serving as Chair and Director of the UQ Cyber Research Centre, Director of Research at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and an elected member of the Academic Board at The University of Queensland, Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering) (Hons.) and a PhD from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. With extensive experience in academia and industry, Ko has held senior leadership and governance roles across government, industry, and NGOs in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the USA. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology and an Affiliate Faculty Member at NIATEC at Idaho State University, USA.

A prominent leader in cybersecurity education and research, Ko has successfully established numerous academic programs and research initiatives. He played a pivotal role in founding UQ Cyber, an interdisciplinary cybersecurity research center involving over 60 academics across multiple faculties, where he led the development of UQ’s postgraduate cybersecurity programs. Prior to joining UQ, he pioneered New Zealand’s first cybersecurity graduate research program and Master of Cyber Security at the University of Waikato, as well as the New Zealand Cyber Security Challenge. His contributions extend beyond education, as he co-founded Dynamic Standards International (DSI), CyberCert, and First Watch Ltd, an industrial cybersecurity spin-off.

Ko has been instrumental in shaping cybersecurity policies and standards internationally. He has served as an expert advisor to INTERPOL, the government of Tonga, and New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice, contributing to key cybersecurity legislation and frameworks. Within ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27, he has held leadership roles, including Head of Delegation for Singapore and editor for various international security standards. His research on cloud security, particularly the STRATUS project in New Zealand, received top recognition and was incorporated into government cybersecurity strategies.

As a mentor and coach, Ko has significantly contributed to the development of cybersecurity competitions and talent pipelines. He co-founded the New Zealand Cyber Security Challenge, the Oceania Cybersecurity Challenge, and the International Cybersecurity Challenge, where he serves as Head Coach for Team Oceania. Under his leadership, Team Oceania achieved a second-place finish at the 2023 International Cybersecurity Challenge. His expertise is also sought after for assessing research grants, accrediting university programs, and examining PhD and Master’s theses worldwide.

Ko’s contributions to cybersecurity have been widely recognised, earning him fellowships with the Australian Computer Society, the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Cloud Security Alliance. His excellence in research and teaching has been acknowledged through numerous awards, including The University of Queensland Awards for Excellence and the (ISC)² Information Security Leadership Award. Beyond academia, he is a prominent science communicator, frequently featured in media outlets across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, discussing cybersecurity, cybercrime, and data privacy.