Leading Online Gaming and Software Security Expert to Speak at Cal Poly

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Gary McGraw, a global expert in the economics of online gaming, piracy, cheating and software security, will speak at Cal Poly Oct. 16. The event runs from 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Spanos Theatre and is free to the public. McGraw is first in the Fall Distinguished Speaker Series presented by the Orfalea College of Business.

McGraw is an expert in online computer gaming, a $9.5 billion industry in 2007, more than triple its size a decade prior. McGraw will draw a comprehensive picture of the sometimes controversial security techniques used in multi-platform online gaming. He will also explain how techniques developed for today’s online gaming will be adapted by industry to ensure tomorrow’s software security.

McGraw will discuss:
- Why online games are a harbinger of software security issues to come
- How millions of gamers have created billion-dollar virtual economies.
- How software designers anticipate security breaches and solutions by studying the actions of hundreds of thousands of interacting users
- How game companies invade personal privacy
- Why some gamers cheat
- Techniques for breaking online security

McGraw is the CTO of Cigital, Inc., a software security and quality consulting firm near Washington, D.C. Recognized as a global expert, McGraw has authored six books on the topic and serves as a strategic advisor for top business and IT executives. He is on the Advisory Board of Fortify Software and Raven White. McGraw holds a dual Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Computer Science from Indiana University, where he serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Informatics.

For more information about Gary McGraw and the Distinguished Speaker Series, please go to www.cob.calpoly.edu.

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