We have another interesting episode in our series of interviews with cybersecurity leaders and practitioners in the industrial controls systems or operating technology space.

Derek Harp is excited to have Ron Indeck, the CEO of Q-Net Security, and a Director, Founder, and Technology Advisor to Exegy and VelociData joining him on the show. 

Ron grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and got his degrees from the University of Minnesota. He is an inventor (he holds more than 100 patents), a distinguished professor at Washington University, a fellow at IEEE and several other professional organizations, an expert in all things magnetic, a serial entrepreneur, a scuba diver, and a father. 

In this episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, Ron discusses his career journey and shares his unique perspective on cybersecurity. He also offers some gold nuggets of career advice and gives insight into upcoming trends in the cybersecurity space.

You won’t want to miss this episode if you are looking for career inspiration or are interested in moving from the academic space into the world of cybersecurity. Stay tuned for more!

Show highlights:

• Ron discusses his career path and his motivation for becoming an entrepreneur.
• Ron’s approach to his work at Washington University.
• Why did he transition across various engineering disciplines before ending up in research and patents?
• Ron’s introduction to security came early on in his career while working with people from the FBI.
• How security for industrial control systems evolved throughout Ron’s career.
• How Ron built his patent portfolio.
• Ron’s approach to solving the generational cybersecurity problem.
• What made Ron decide to leave his successful academic career to become an entrepreneur?
• Exciting and rewarding possibilities exist for academics in the industrial technology space.
• How can you get into tech transfer?
• Ron talks about his work at the Airforce Research Laboratory.
• How to recognize an opportunity.
• Teamwork and cooperation are vital for success.
• Ron defines the term hardsec and compares it with a software approach to security solutions for the future.
• Why does Ron believe that cybersecurity is an issue of human rights?
• You can create exciting and rewarding career opportunities in cybersecurity.

Bio:

Ronald S. Indeck, Ph.D., received degrees from the University of Minnesota. He is CEO of Q-Net Security and a Director, Founder, and Technology Advisor to Exegy and VelociData. 

He was a National Science Foundation Research Fellow at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. From 1988 to 2009 he was in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Washington University where he was the Das Family Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Security Technologies.

He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed technical papers and been awarded more than a hundred patents including MagnePrint. He has received many awards including the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award from President Bush, the Missouri Bar Association Inventor of the Year, the IBM Faculty Development Award, the Washington University Distinguished Faculty Award, and the IEEE Centennial Key to the Future Award, and the IEEE Young Professional Award. 

He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a member of the American Physical Society, and many other professional organizations. He has served on many local committees and group activities, was on the board of the FBI InfraGard, chaired sessions, and served at several international conferences including General Chairman for International Magnetics Conference, was an editor for the IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, President of the IEEE Magnetics Society, and IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturer. 

Specialties: Indeck is experienced in cybersecurity, heterogeneous computing, data mining in massive databases, magnetic measurements and modeling, physical security and authentication, recording physics, and magnetic devices.