Thomas Hyslip is a distinguished expert in cybercrime and cybersecurity with over two decades of experience in both government and academia. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida and retired from federal law enforcement after 23 years of leading cybercrime investigations and digital forensics.

Tom is able to provide expert commentary on cybercrime investigation, digital forensics, incident response, and cybersecurity. He emphasizes that more than 90% of cyberattacks are caused by human error, highlighting that humans are cybersecurity’s weakest link. Tom believes it is crucial to report cyber attacks and raise public awareness to mitigate these threats effectively.

Before joining the University of South Florida, Tom retired from the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, where he supervised the Cyber Resident Agency. His career also includes significant roles as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service and an Adjunct Professor at various institutions, including Michigan State University and Norwich University. Tom retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Army Reserve, where he conducted vulnerability assessments of SCADA systems and established cybersecurity training opportunities for soldiers.

Tom holds a Doctor of Science degree in Cybersecurity from Capitol College, with a dissertation on “Proactive Botnet Detection through Characterization of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks.” His research focuses on botnets, DDoS attacks, and the social dynamics of cybercriminal communities. He has published extensively in leading cybersecurity journals and presented his findings at numerous conferences.