On Sep. 19, the foremost U.S. intelligence leaders, decision makers and experts will be at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Intel Summit to share their expertise and shed light on the future of the intelligence landscape.
As the event’s closing keynote speaker, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s Dana Madsen will take the stage to share his priorities, outline his organization’s mission and open up essential dialogue with industry.
Learn more about Madsen, his career and his role within the Intelligence Community below, and register for the 2024 Intel Summit for your chance to meet, learn from and network with Madsen on Sep. 19.
Who Is Dana Madsen?
Dana Madsen currently serves as the deputy director of ODNI’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, known as CTIIC. In this capacity, Madsen leads an Intelligence Community-wide cyber strategy, investment and support to national policy.
Prior to stepping into the CTIIC deputy director role in June 2024, Madsen was the CTIIC’s national intelligence manager for cyber. During his nearly two years in the role, Madsen played an instrumental role in the development of CTIIC’s 2023 Unified Intelligence Strategy for Cyber, and he oversaw major investments in cyber across the IC.
Madsen led a cyber threat program at the Central Intelligence Agency before his time at CTIIC. He is an expert intelligence analyst, and he has been a part of the CIA’s senior analytic service since 2006. In 2000, Madsen joined the IC after five years of U.S. Air Force service.
What Is CTIIC?
The Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center was established in 2015 to “connect the dots” within the IC in regards to cyber threat intelligence. The center analyzes and integrates cyber intelligence to better inform U.S. decision makers and policymakers about the threats facing the nation.
CTIIC was established under the auspices of ODNI in response to a 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
The Cyber Threat Landscape
Attacks on Critical Infrastructure
According to a report by the CTIIC, cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure spiked in the last year, posing a threat to public safety and unlocking an avenue for cyber attackers to cause major physical damage across the country.
“Iran-affiliated and pro-Russia cyber actors gained access to and in some cases have manipulated critical US industrial control systems in the food and agriculture, healthcare, and water and wastewater sectors in late 2023 and 2024,” the report states.
Systems in Texas and Pennsylvania were particularly affected by the attacks. CTIIC said outdated software, poor password security, infrequent system updates and default credential usage left these infrastructure systems vulnerable to attacks.
Ransomware Attacks On the Rise
From 2022 to 2023, the number of ransomware attack claims across the globe increased by 74 percent. CTIIC said the spike was due to a number of factors, including that commercial intelligence vendors were more comprehensively tracking threats, but also that ransomware attacks actually were on the rise.
“Attacks increased—by more than 50 percent—against the agriculture, defense and government, energy, healthcare, IT, and transportation sectors, as compared with 2022,” the report found.
In total, there were 4,506 reported ransomware attacks in 2023, up from 2,590 the previous year. LockBit was identified as the most popular ransomware-as-aService provider and was responsible for 24 percent of all claimed attacks worldwide in 2023.
Dana Madsen’s Priorities and Insights
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed multiple industries and sectors in recent years, including intelligence. So it’s no surprise Madsen has his eye on AI as the disruptive technology continues to develop.
“I will be driving the IC’s posture in anticipating future #cyber threats and vulnerabilities, especially as our adversaries increasingly utilize #AI advancements to refine and scale their operations,” Madsen said in a LinkedIn post upon his elevation to CTIIC deputy director.
And with his analyst background, Madsen is also keenly aware of the importance of open source intelligence, or OSINT, in keeping up with the proliferation of cyber threats.
“Open source intelligence is…important…both to understand regional trends and global coverage, but also to identify where you actually focus the scarce collection resources to collect exquisite intelligence and minimize the operational risk while maintaining situational awareness,” Madsen said at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Intel Summit.
Dana Madsen to Speak at 2024 Intel Summit
Dana Madsen is set to close out the 2024 Intel Summit on Sep. 19 with a keynote address. Madsen headlines a jam-packed program filled with insights from the most influential IC leaders in the U.S. and panel discussions on the most critical topics shaping the intelligence landscape today.
Don’t miss your chance to interact with and hear from Madsen and other IC decision makers in person! Register for the 2024 Intel Summit today to save your spot while tickets are still available.
