Wm. Arthur Conklin, professor, information system security at the University of Houston College of Technology has been named Cybersecurity Professional of the Year by the Energy Sector Security Consortium, Inc. (EnergySec). EnergySec is a nonprofit corporation that supports energy sector organizations through collaborative initiative which help improve cybersecurity resiliency. Conklin received the honor for his exemplary efforts to improve the security of our nation’s critical infrastructure at the Annual Security and Compliance Summit in Anaheim, California, August 19-21. 2019.
He holds two terminal degrees, a Ph.D. in Business Administration (specializing in Information Security), from The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the degree Electrical Engineer (specializing in Space Systems Engineering) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He holds Security+, CISSP, CSSLP, CRISC, DFCP, IAM and IEM certifications.
As director of the University of Houston Center for Information Security Research and Education, his research interests include the use of systems theory to explore information security, specifically in Cyber Physical Systems. He has co-authored six security books and numerous academic articles associated with information security. Active in the community, he is a Fellow of ISSA and National Board of Information Security Board of Examiners. He was inducted into the San Antonio Cyber Hall of Honor in 2018. An expert in cybersecurity for operational technology systems, Conklin received The CyberTexas Foundation’s Cyber All Star recognition for his accomplishments in workforce/education. And is a recipient of the Ernie Rakaczky ICS Security Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded at the 12th Annual SANS Industrial Control Systems Security Summit in Orlando, FL in March in 2017. Through his leadership, the University of Houston has been designated as a National Security Agency (NSA) accredited Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense.
He has an extensive background in secure coding and was a co-chair of the DHS/DoD Software Assurance Forum working group for workforce education, training and development and is active in the DHS sponsored Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG) efforts associated with workforce development and cybersecurity aspects of industrial control systems.
The award was presented at the 15th Annual EnergySec Security and Compliance Summit, August 19-21, in Anaheim, California.