About Me

Vitaly Ford received an Information Systems and Technology Engineer degree at the Ural Federal University in 2012. He continued his education and pursued Master's and PhD in Computer Science (Cybersecurity) at Tennessee Tech University, graduating in 2017. He joined the faculty of Arcadia University in Fall 2017 as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science.

Dr. Ford's primary areas of research include Smart Grid security and privacy, cybersecurity education, machine learning/data science, and fraud detection. Some of his most recent projects are:
   (1) GenCyberCoin - gamified platform for teaching cybersecurity;
   (2) a simulation framework for analyzing and comparing the performance of different privacy-preserving advanced metering infrastructure protocols;
   (3) CTF Unplugged - the Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition for K-12 students that does not require any technology for participation;
   (4) curriculum and learning modules for GenCyber cybersecurity summer camp for K-12 students;
   (5) penetration testing exercises for K-12 and college students;
   (6) privacy-preserving advanced metering infrastructure protocol that supports fine-grained data analysis.

Dr. Ford has been also serving as the Director of Cybersecuirty R&D for the National Cybersecurity Student Association and the Chapter Coordinator for the Women in Cybersecurity organization. In his spare time, he enjoys playing chess, table tennis, and CTF {watching Netflix too! ;-D }.