Josiah Dykstra

Josiah Dykstra is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Trail of Bits. He previously served for 19 years as a senior technical leader at the National Security Agency (NSA). Dr. Dykstra is an experienced cyber practitioner and researcher whose focus has included the psychology and economics of cybersecurity. He received the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) fellowship and is one of six people in the SFS Hall of Fame. In 2017, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from then President Barack Obama. Dr. Dykstra is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He is the author of numerous research papers, the book, Essential Cybersecurity Science (O’Reilly Media, 2016), and co-author of Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions (Pearson, 2023). Dr. Dykstra holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Why I chose cybersecurity as my field: Cybersecurity is attractive because it helps to ensure that people can feel more confident in their primary goals, from messaging to banking to healthcare. I enjoy the challenge of learning rapidly-changing technology and countering emerging threats. Having seen global-scale threats in government and helped small businesses implement recommended practices, I’ve come to appreciate the costs and values of cybersecurity. Today, I’m grateful to share my stories and experiences with the hope that they encourage and motivate the next generation.