David Aucsmith

David Aucsmith is a distinguished cybersecurity expert who currently serves as Chief Scientist at DarkLight AI and Senior Principal Research Scientist at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory, where he focuses on cyber-physical systems security. With over 30 years of experience spanning industry, government, and academia, his career includes significant roles as Senior Director at Microsoft's Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments and Chief Security Architect at Intel Corporation. A former U.S. Navy officer, Aucsmith holds 34 patents in digital security and has earned multiple degrees including a BS in biochemistry from the University of Georgia and MS degrees in both physics from the Naval Postgraduate School and information and computer sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology. His expertise encompasses cybercrime, cyberespionage, and cyberwarfare, with extensive work in secure systems, cryptography, and network intrusion detection. He maintains influential positions in national security, serving as co-chairman of the FBI's Information Technology Study Group and participating in advisory roles with the Defense Department, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Presidential Task Force. His international impact is highlighted by his role as U.S. representative to the G8 Committee on Organized, Transnational, and Technological Crime, where he contributed to summits in Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo. Currently, he teaches computer security as an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington and has developed a popular cybersecurity toolkit course that has attracted over 34,000 students worldwide.