Associate Professor
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army
Computer Engineering and Sciences
Ph.D., Computer Science, NC State University, 2019
M.S., Computer Science, NC State University, 2008
B.S., Computer Science, US Military Academy at West Point, 1999
Dr. O’Connor’s research has centered on computer security with an emphasis on information security education, wireless security, software-defined networking, internet-of-things security, and machine learning approaches for security. He has authored a book in the area and published his research in the proceedings of several academic conferences.
His latest work investigated sensor blinding and state confusion attacks against smart-home internet-of-things devices and was recognized as the best paper for WiSec 2019. Dr. O’Connor served 20 years as an Army Officer, retiring in 2019 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
His service included an academic appointment to the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the US Military Academy and four assignments supporting the Special Forces, from the tactical level in Afghanistan and culminated as the Chief Information Officer for the 1st Special Forces Command Headquarters.
Dr. O’Connor is active in cyber security competitions, winning the National Defense University Cyber Competition, setting the high score for the SANS Netwars tournament, co-coaching two winning teams at the NSA’s Cyber Defense Competition, and leading the Red Team efforts for the Southeast Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.
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