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Future of Secure AI

The Future of Secure Artificial Intelligence (AI) executive certificate prepares leaders to understand the intersection of AI and cybersecurity.

You will gain deep insight into current trends in AI and cybersecurity through this high-impact certificate. The curriculum is developed and taught by our expert faculty and industry leaders to build executive literacy in AI risk, governance and defense.  

Dates: Tuesday, November 10–Friday, November 13, 2026

Curriculum

Designed for engineering leaders, this curriculum pairs high-level strategic insights with deeply technical concepts that form the infrastructure driving AI. It is fast paced and hands on, bridging AI innovation, agentic AI, cyber resilience and strategic foresight.

Across three and a half days, you will learn alongside and network with peers across industry and government. The future of Secure AI certificate was created for technical executives and leads with experience strengthening and overseeing security systems, from Chief AI Officers (CAIO) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) to Senior Security Engineers and VPs of Engineering.

Agenda Overview

Day 1: Strategic Foundations of Secure AI

Day 2: Technical and Operational Deep Dives

Day 3: Governance, Policy and Organizational Deployment

Day 4: Capstone and Presentation

Detailed Agenda

Note that session order and titles are subject to change pending instructor availability.

Meet the Faculty 

INI Director and Co-Lead Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis 

As Director of the INI since 2004, Dr. Haritos Tsamitis has built interdisciplinary engineering programs and advanced the field of security education. She established one of the country's first graduate-level cybersecurity degree programs, the INI's top-ranked M.S. in Information Security (MSIS), and has been PI of CMU's Scholarship for Service (SFS) program for over two decades. Under her leadership, CMU has earned three federal designations as a National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) for Cyber Defense, Research and Operations. In 2022, she launched the first graduate program to combine AI engineering and information security with the INI's M.S. in Artificial Intelligence Engineering - Information Security (MSAIE-IS).

INI Associate Director and Co-Lead Dr. Michael Mattarock II 

Michael Mattarock brings deep expertise in national security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to his role as associate director and assistant teaching professor. With experience working within government agencies, leading security research strategies and consulting on security architecture solutions, Mattarock is a versatile leader with an impactful track record. As associate director, Mattarock collaborates closely with the INI's Director, Dr. Haritos Tsamitis, to advance collaborations with government and industry partners and oversee academic affairs, in addition to teaching courses in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence ethics and operations. 

Guest Instructors

Dr. David Brumley is a well-known cybersecurity expert, speaker, entrepreneur, and researcher. David focuses on AI, offensive security, cyberwar theory, developer security, and cyber-physical/critical infrastructure security. David serves on several industry boards, and also holds the Chief AI & Science Officer position at Bugcrowd. Previously, he founded ForAllSecure (Mayhem Security) and served as CEO, pioneering automated vulnerability discovery and exploit generation. David is also well known for building and scaling large security programs and communities, including founding picoCTF and leading the world’s most awarded competitive hacking team PPP/MMM.

Joanna Doven is a strategic development expert, speaker and founder of Premo Consultants, specializing in AI-based place and positioning strategies that poise cities, developers and innovators to thrive in the New AI Economy.

Dr. Cleotilde (Coty) Gonzalez is a Professor at the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at ÌÇÐÄVlogÊÓƵ. She is the founding director of the Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory and the research co-director of the National AI Institute for Societal Decision Making. Gonzalez has published hundreds of papers in journals and peer-reviewed proceedings involving a diverse set of fields deriving from her contributions to Cognitive Science. Her work includes the development of a theory of decisions from experience called Instance-Based Learning Theory (IBLT), from which many computational models have emerged in areas as diverse as: cybersecurity, network science, human-machine teaming, and others. See her recently published research on the intersection of AI and human decision making.

Dr. Taha Khan is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Information Networking Institute at ÌÇÐÄVlogÊÓƵ. Dr. Khan’s research interests span usable security and privacy, measuring cybercrime, trustworthy AI, online censorship and computer science education. His work focuses on understanding how people interact with security systems and designing tools that are secure and robust. He also consults for small-scale startups and, in the past, has provided expert guidance on security and AI to companies in industries ranging from blockchain, finance and insurance, to cyber-physical systems.

Jay Palat is an AI/ML technical leader with over 20 years of experience building and deploying AI systems in mission-critical environments. As Principal of QOE Labs, he provides technical leadership to organizations navigating AI adoption. Previously, he served as Technical Director of AI for Mission at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute and Head of AI/ML at mpathic. He holds an MS in Information Technology from ÌÇÐÄVlogÊÓƵ.

Aditi Pendharkar is a technology leader at AWS working at the intersection of AI, cloud and trust — helping enterprises and regulators say “yes” to powerful technologies without breaking things that matter. She builds trust systems for large-scale, regulated environments, translating security, risk and governance into platforms that enable safe, real-world adoption of AI. Her focus is on embedding accountability and explainability into how technology operates - not as an afterthought. A 2009 alum of the INI’s M.S. in Information Networking, her work spans disciplines and continents, giving her a front-row view of how fast-moving technology meets real-world responsibility. Outside of work, she runs marathons, paints, and founded the Tai Dada Network to support women entrepreneurs in rural India. She is also an amateur plumber and electrician — skills she suspects may outlast many in the AI era.

Terry Roberts is a global risk analytics, cyber intelligence and national security professional with over 20 years of Executive level experience across government, academia and industry — establishing the first Cyber Risk to Resilience Online Exchange. Previously Roberts was the TASC VP for Cyber Engineering and Analytics, an Executive Director of the ÌÇÐÄVlogÊÓƵ (CMU) Software Engineering Institute (SEI), leading the technical body of work for the US Interagency, with a special focus on leveraging and transitioning commercial innovation and acquisition excellence to government programs and capabilities, establishing the Emerging Technologies Center (now the AI Division) and the Cyber Intelligence Consortium. Before transitioning to industry in 2009, Roberts was the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence (DDNI) and the Director of Requirements and Resources for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USDI), spearheading the creation the Military Intelligence Program (MIP) (a $21B Program), in partnership with the Director of National Intelligence, the Military Services, the Combat Support Agencies and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).

Dr. David Varodayan is an associate teaching professor in the INI at ÌÇÐÄVlogÊÓƵ. His interests are in AI and information security and he has created new graduate courses titled Introduction to Machine Learning with Adversaries in Mind, AI Applications in Information Security and Mathematical Foundations for AI. He has also taught courses in computer systems and networks. Varodayan was a core member of the College of Engineering team that developed and launched CMU's Masters in AI Engineering degree programs.

Dr. Chenxi Wang is the founder and general partner of Rain Capital, a cyber-focused venture fund, and Venturebeat Women in AI awardee.

Lily Yeoh is the founder and CEO of C1Risk and a cybersecurity and risk management executive with more than 25 years of experience across Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups. Having worked as a chief security officer, consultant, and security engineer, she understands risk from the boardroom to the front lines. A frequent speaker at RSA, WiCyS, ISACA, Fortinet, and ILTA, Lily translates complex challenges in AI, software, cloud, and operational risk into clear, practical insights that help leaders make strategic decisions and build more resilient organizations.

 

Timeline

Applications for the November session are rolling until October 23, 2026. Please  to be considered!

Not able to join us this November? to receive communications about future cycles.

Pricing

Standard rate: $8,975

Government rate: $5,475 (only available to full-time employees of local, state and federal government) 

Pricing includes all sessions, working lunches, off-site visits and local transportation if you stay at the hotel block. Hotel lodging must be purchased separately, and we recommend you stay in the hotel block to take advantage of daily local transportation to and from sessions.

50% refunds are available if participants cancel by emailing ini-execed@andrew.cmu.edu.

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