RoRo

Bio:

Alex (RoRo) Romero previously served as a CISO in the US DoD, and later worked in the US Digital Service and Defense Digital Service where he helped to challenge norms around security checklists ≠ better security outcomes. He later became a fellow at the Aspen Institute's Tech Policy Hub where he found a passion for applying an engineering mindset to fixing tech policy. He currently works as a Director of Product Security and Security Researcher at a small silicon manufacturer and still serves as a Special Gov't Employee helping with cybersecurity in the DOD. As a veteran he is passionate about making a safer tomorrow through the power and goodwill of the cybersecurity community which he loves so much.

Abstract:

With a love for public service RoRo has been working for the Government in one or another since the age of 15, where he started as a Pentagon intern. After later serving in the Marines, he continued to pursue his childhood passion of “hacking the planet” and became a security engineer and security researcher. With the mindset of “if an adversary can hack systems I'm responsible for, I might as well try to hack my systems first,” he later helped to spearhead the first bug bounty in the US Federal Government. 45+ bounty events later, and with a passion for making tech policies make technical sense, RoRo will share stories of how he helped others Hack the Pentagon from sea, space to AI -and more recently- to uncover hidden truths buried in the silicon we all use daily.