Chief Engineer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Keynote Day Two of Black Hat USA 2013

SAN FRANCISCO, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Hat, the world's leading family of information security events, announced that Brian Muirhead, Chief Engineer, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and former manager of the Mars Pathfinder Mission as well as the former Chief Architect of the Constellation program, will present the Day Two keynote address at Black Hat USA 2013. Black Hat USA will take place July 27 – August 1, 2013, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. For more information and to sign up for early registration by May 31, please visit http://www.blackhat.com/us-13/.

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A recipient of two of NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medals, Brian Muirhead has unique experience in solving the challenges of both robotic and human exploration of space. He led the team that built the Mars Pathfinder that landed in 1997, bringing worldwide acclaim and initiating a new era of exploration of the surface of Mars.   Mr. Muirhead was the Chief Engineer of the Mars Science Laboratory where he helped with the invention of the Sky Crane, which was used to land the rover, "Curiosity," on Mars in 2012.  His role as Chief Architect on the Constellation Program brought his experience in deep space robotic missions to bear on the challenges of human spaceflight beyond Earth orbit.  Mr. Muirhead is also the author of two highly regarded books – Going to Mars and High Velocity Leadership.

"The key to taking risk and not failing is innovation - being creative in both what you do and how you do it. Mission success comes from having the right team, a sound architecture and careful execution," explained Brian Muirhead, Chief Engineer, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "There are unknowns in every environment; particularly in the exploration of space.  Cyber security represents a very challenging new environment for developers and operators of information systems."   

Mr. Muirhead will take the keynote stage at Black Hat USA on August 1, 2013. In his talk titled, "Take Risk, Don't Fail," Mr. Muirhead will discuss how the combination of calculated risk taking, the application of well tested technology and a trusted team of experts yielded extraordinary successes for space exploration. This keynote address will also celebrate the one-year anniversary of the spectacular landing of Curiosity, the Mars rover that landed on August 5, 2012. In this inspiring talk, Mr. Muirhead will illustrate for attendees the techniques that have made him an award-winning leader and innovator while also sharing the excitement and challenges of space exploration.

"Mr. Muirhead is someone who has effectively done the impossible. From igniting some of the brightest minds in space exploration to overcoming huge odds of putting spacecraft on Mars, he will surely bring lessons learned unlike any we've heard before," explained Trey Ford, General Manager, Black Hat. "The challenges faced by Mr. Muirhead's teams at JPL and NASA are kindred to our own - executing against unforgiving odds while managing the unpredictable. I couldn't be more excited about hearing his perspective as well as the conversations to follow."

This year Black Hat USA will welcome security experts, public and private sector security professionals and underground hackers to Las Vegas for a first-hand look at groundbreaking new research, vulnerabilities and security tools from around the world. Sponsors of Black Hat USA include Diamond Sponsors: Microsoft, Qualys, RSA; Platinum Plus Sponsors: Accuvant LABS, Alien Vault, Cisco, Core Security, LogRhythm, Looking Glass; Platinum Sponsors: Blue Coat, IBM, Lieberman Software, Solera Networks, Symantec and Trustwave.

For more information and to register for Black Hat USA 2013, please visit: http://www.blackhat.com/us-13/.

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SOURCE Black Hat