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Past Event
Seminar

"Demystifying the NSA" An Intelligence Lunch with Michael Gillen

Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students

The Intelligence Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host and Intelligence Lunch on Wednesday, November 1st from 12:00pm-1:15pm in the 3rd floor conference room at One Brattle Square (OB-350). Michael Gillen, Recanati-Kaplan Fellow at the Belfer Center, will be hosting a discussion on "Demystifying the NSA." Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Director of the Intelligence Project, will moderate.

No RSVP necessary. Lunch from Flour Bakery will be served. 

Date: Time: - Location: Room 350

About

This new weekly seminar brings current and former practitioners from the intelligence community together with the Harvard community to discuss various intelligence-related topics in an informal setting. The discussion will be led by a different expert each week, who will address topics such as "Whistle Blowers, Traitors, and Spies in the Digital World," "Women in Intelligence," "The Ethics of Intelligence," and other themes relating to both the operational and practical aspects of intelligence, as well as it's role in national and international policy and decision making. 

The lunch will take place in One Brattle Square Conference Room 350 (OB350), from 12:00-1:15 PM and is open to all Harvard faculty, fellow, students, and staff who are interested in expanding their knowledge and awareness of intelligence issues. No RSVP required. Lunch from Flour Bakery will be served! 

Biography

Michael Gillen began his career at the Department of Defense (DoD) in 2000 as a computer programmer, working on various National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) data collection systems. In 2003, he transitioned into network analysis and focused on improving intelligence access to various adversaries around the world, including counterterrorism targets and a range of countries. Mr. Gillen’s most recent position was the Deputy Chief of Operations for the NSA Cybersecurity Operations (CSO) Group. In this role, he advises the Chief of CSO on all operational issues in the cybersecurity mission space, including target pursuit, countering foreign malicious cyber activity, and strategic cyber planning with whole-of-government coordination.

Mr. Gillen graduated from Truman State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. In late 2006, he received a Master of Arts degree in International Security Studies from Georgetown University. He’s also taken a range of NSA/CSS internal courses on telecommunications, technology, and world affairs.

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