VCU Cybersecurity Center Focus Area: Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance

VCU Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance focus area is lead by Profs. Robert Dahlberg, William Pelfrey, and Christopher Whyte

Dr. Dahlberg is an Assistant Professor with Computer Science Department at Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). He has over 35 years of IT security industry experience. His previous positions include Senior Technical Advisor at the Federal Reserve's National Information Technology Division where he lead a security team to secured a FISMA certification for the Federal Reserve's Treasury Auction System and acted as Design Review Board Chairman for the Federal Reserve IT infrastructure where he and his team were mandated with reviewing all enhancements for vulnerabilities and enforcing compliance standards, he performed a principal security consultant for a number of Fortune 500 organizations and Senior Development Manager at Computer Associates over the security product line (CA-ACF2, CA-Top Secret, CA-Examine, Pan-Audit, etc.)

Dr. Pelfrey is an Associate Professor and Program Chair with Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Department in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work addresses issues of programmatic effectiveness within the context of public safety, particularly revolving around law enforcement agencies. He has written numerous articles, book chapters and manuscripts as well as applied research reports for local, state and federal agencies. Pelfrey’s research has been published in the nation’s leading scholastic journals, including Justice Quarterly, Criminal Justice Studies, Homeland Security Review and the Journal of Criminal Justice. He also serves as an expert commentator on crime patterns, law enforcement and the psychology of crime for numerous media outlets. Applied work plays an important role in Pelfrey’s research agenda. His research projects include efficacy evaluations of drug treatment courts, juvenile crime reduction programs, law enforcement and community policing efforts, cyberbullying, safety in schools and homeland security. Pelfrey has served as principal or co-principal investigator on grants from a variety of federal, state and local funding sources.

Dr. Whyte is an Assistant Professor with Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Department in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research interests include a range of international security topics related to the use of information technology in war and peace, political communication and cybersecurity doctrine/policy. His dissertation explores the determinants of decision-making among subversive groups that choose to use different kinds of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their campaigns. His scholarly and analytic work on cyber conflict and trends in international politics scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in several publications including International Studies Quarterly, International Studies Review, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Orbis, Comparative Strategy, New Media & Society, Foreign Policy and The National Interest. He is also co-author of a forthcoming Routledge volume on international security and cyberspace – entitled Understanding Cyber-Warfare: Politics, Policy and Strategy – with Brian Mazanec and Angelos Stavrou. Whyte received his doctorate and master's degrees in political science from George Mason University and his bachelor's degree in International Relations and Economics from the College of William and Mary. He was previously a non-resident fellow with Pacific Forum CSIS and a fellow at the Center for Security Policy Studies, George Mason University. Previously, he worked in various roles at several national security think tanks, including the Cato Institute, the Center for the National Interest and the Center for a New American Security.