Casey O'Brien

Education

• Ph.D., currently enrolled in an Education Policy, Organization & Leadership (EPOL) concentration in Learning Design and Leadership (LDL) Ph.D. program in the College of Education at UIUC
• M.A., Psychology, Duquesne University
• B.A., Psychology, University of St. Thomas

Biography

Casey W. O'Brien is the Associate Director for Cyber Defense Education and Training with the Information Trust Institute in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Casey has more than 25 years of large-scale information security and IT engineering, implementation, and management experience in challenging and cutting-edge public and private sector environments. Casey is the Technical Editor of five textbooks: Ethical Hacking & Systems Defense, Linux Server Fundamentals, Information Security Fundamentals, Introduction to Scripting, and Networking Fundamentals.

Research Statement

My research follows two main threads: The first explores the technical, organizational, and human/social challenges of information and industrial control systems. This work leads to the development of tools and strategies that apply more broadly to the security of networked cyber-physical and information technology systems. The second investigates educational and training delivery solutions and content that results in a diverse pool of talent with the skills needed to protect organizations and improve critical infrastructure.

Honors

• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2024 - Fall)
• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2024 - Spring)
• UIUC Information Trust Institute (ITI) Excellence at Work (2023 )