Content

Threat Seeker – Dan Basile

Category: Threat Seaker

Name: Dan Basile

Title: Executive director, security operations center

Company: Texas A&M

Why nominated: A passionate, tenacious, and thoughtful information security advocate, Dan Basile's profile and responsibility within the Texas A&M University (TAMU) System have risen dramatically in the last 12 years.

Profile: The founder of Texas A&M University system's security operations center (SOC), Dan Basile created the SOC while he was serving as executive director for the Texas A&M health science center's office of information technology. The school, a target for nation-state attacks, spends $3.5 billion annually to perform vital research and works with organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, making it a target for nation-state cyber attackers

He put students, who use an artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity platform that automates detection and response to cyberattacks, on the front line of the school's security initiative. Basile's team was able to stop seven cyberattacks on A&M's networks in a single year. The center also slashed costs by eliminating the need for post-breach forensics, which costs about $1 million per incident, and accelerated threat detection because students don't have to sift through piles of data.

Basile's security operations center also managed to overcome the challenge presented by the ongoing cybersecurity talent shortage statewide, most organizations around the world face today.

Before beginning his tenure at Texas A&M, Basile founded Compliance Point Security, which helped to provide affordable HIPAA compliance services for small medical practices.

What colleagues say: “Dan Basile is a passionate, tenacious, and thoughtful information security advocate. His role and responsibility within the Texas A&M University (TAMU) System has increased dramatically over the past 12 years. From his humble beginnings managing all Apple Macintosh computers for TAMU's Open Access Labs, Dan ambitions and interests led him to the ISO position at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC), where he excelled in information security and compliance arenas. His great work and, in some cases pioneering information security efforts in the TAMU System, eventually led to his current position as the Executive Director of the Security Operations Center for the TAMU System, where he continues to improve upon groundwork he started with the HSC regarding security operations.”

    -  Paul Wiggins is a Program Manager for the Knowledge Engineering Center (KEC) of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)

Get daily email updates

SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news

By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.