Mike Higgins is a veteran security executive with more than 20 years of experience working in the Government and in private industry. As the founder of the DOD Computer Emergency Response Team (DOD-CERT), Mike was one of the earliest advocates in the leadership role of the Federal Government through the identification of the five critical infrastructures.

Today Mike serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for NBCUniversal leading the company’s information security programs. Previously Mike held the Chief Security Officer positions at The New York Times Company, leading the company’s defense from the Chinese attacks of their infrastructure, and LexisNexis, where Mike was recruited to build their security program following their publicized breaches. For more than a decade Mike was an executive security consultant to Fortune 500 companies including Time Warner, Citigroup, Sun Microsystems, Merrill Lynch, JPMorganChase, and British Petroleum.

Mike holds dual certifications as a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and is the recipient of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Director’s Medal and Federal Computer Week’s Federal 100 Award.

Mike is a visiting professor at the Northeastern University where he teaches the Capstone Course for their Master of Science in Information Assurance, an NSA/DHS Designated Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education; a visiting lecturer for over 10 years at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and a former adjunct professor in the Information Assurance Program at The George Washington University.

Mike received his Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and his Masters’ from the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California.