Cybercrime Atlas: Using Maps to Create a More Secure Ecosystem
How do you find a location in the real world? You use a map. How do you understand a business process? You make a diagram. The same logic applies in cyberspace. If we want to truly understand how cybercriminals operate and where they are located, then we need to create “maps” or diagrams of their activities. That’s what the Cybercrime Atlas is designed to do. Officially launched by the World Economic Forum’s Center for Cybersecurity in January 2023, the Cybercrime Atlas project will collect intelligence about cybercriminal activity from many different sources, collate and normalize it, and then generate different views or maps of the associated malicious actions. When fully operational, the Atlas will help defenders protect their networks and governments disrupt the criminal activity. However, to become fully operational, the Atlas project needs support from cybersecurity providers all over the world. This talk will cover the current status of the Atlas project, highlight some initial successes, and identify how companies can get involved in the effort.
Mr. Michael Daniel
Michael serves as the President & CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), a non-profit organization that improves the cybersecurity of the global digital ecosystem by enabling high-quality cyber threat information sharing among cybersecurity providers. CTA’s mission is to better protect end-users, enable the disruption of cyber adversaries, and elevate overall cybersecurity. CTA’s members include more than 36 cybersecurity firms headquartered in twelve countries around the world.
Prior to CTA, Michael served as Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator on the National Security Council Staff. In this role, he led the development and implementation of national cybersecurity strategy and policy, focusing on improving cyber defenses in the public and private sectors; deterring and disrupting malicious cyber activity aimed at the U.S. or its allies; and, improving the US’s ability to respond to and recover from cyber incidents. Michael also helped craft the government’s response to significant cyber incidents, such the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the intrusion into the Office of Personnel Management, and the Russian efforts to meddle in our electoral process.
Before joining the National Security Council Staff, Michael served for 17 years in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including 11 years as the Chief of the Intelligence Branch in the National Security Division, overseeing the Intelligence Community and other classified Department of Defense programs.
Originally from Atlanta, Michael holds a Bachelor’s in Public Policy from Princeton University, a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In his free time, he enjoys running and martial arts.