Expertise

Cybercrime, Critical Infrastructure, Social Engineering, Cybersecurity Education, Community Outreach and Engagement

Biography

Dr. Aunshul Rege is a Full Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University, where she directs the Cybersecurity in Application, Research, and Education (CARE) Lab. Her research has been funded by several National Science Foundation (CAREER, EAGER, CPS, SaTC EDU) and Department of Energy/Idaho National Lab grants. Her work focuses on critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, cyberadversarial decision-making and adaptation, ransomware, social engineering, and cybersecurity education. She is the organizer and host of the summer social engineering competitions for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Her cybersecurity awareness and training efforts extend beyond higher education to include working with youth, elderly, and previously incarcerated individuals via partnerships with local nonprofits.

Dr. Rege has a B.Sc.(2002) in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, and worked for two years as a software engineer. She also holds a B.A. (Hons.) (2006) and M.A. (2008) in Criminology from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She completed her M.A. (2010) and Ph.D. (2012) in Criminal Justice from the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice. She has been featured on BBC World Service, WHYY/ PBS/NPR's Studio 2, the David Bombal's show, Technical.ly, and the BBC/CBC Podcast "Love, Janessa", and her work has been recognized in Security News, Dark Reading, and AARP to name a few. She currently serves as the Research Lead for the Social Engineering Community at Defcon. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Raices Cyber and Black Girls Hack.

Website | Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications

• Rege, A., Bleiman, R.(+). “A Case Study of a Ransomware and Social Engineering Competition.” Proceedings from the IEEE Cyber Science Conference.
• Rege, A., Spence, G. (+), Bleiman, R.(+), Mitchell, S. & Latko, J. (forthcoming). “Experiential Learning for Students via a Community Cyberhygiene Training Program” In 2024 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC).
• Rege, A., Bleiman, R.(+), Williams, K(+). (2023). “The Relevance of Social Engineering Competitions in Cybersecurity Education”. Proceedings from the IEEE Cyber Science Conference.
• Rege, A., Williams, J., Bleiman, R.(+) & Williams, K.(+) (2023). “Students’ application of the MITRE ATT&CK® framework via a real-time cybersecurity exercise”. Proceedings from the 22nd European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security.
• Rege, A. & Bleiman, R.(+). (2022). “A Free and Community-driven Critical Infrastructure Ransomware Dataset”. Proceedings from the IEEE Cyber Science Conference.
• Bleiman, R. (+), Williams, J., Rege, A. & Williams, K.(+). (2022). “Exploring the MITRE ATT&CK® Matrix in SE Education”. Proceedings from the IEEE Cyber Science Conference.
• Williams, K.(+), Bleiman, R.(+), & Rege, A. (2022). “Educating educators on social engineering: Experiences developing and implementing a social engineering workshop for all education levels”. Proceedings from the 11th IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC).
• Rege, A.& Bleiman, R. (+). (2022). “Collegiate Social Engineering Capture the Flag Competition”. Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE eCrime Researchers Summit. Winner of Best Student Paper Award.

(+) = graduate student co-author 

Courses Taught

• CJ 3007: Cybercrime
• CJ 3403: Organized crime
• CJ 8310: Privacy, surveillance, and Cybercrime