Writing Award Winners

To encourage individual thought leaders to share their knowledge with the AFCEA audience, each year SIGNAL produces The Cyber Edge Writing Award. Writers address a unique theme and the top three submissions receive cash prizes and accolades. A panel of industry experts selects the winners.

 

 

 

Section Title
2025 Winners: Cyber Defense for Critical Infrastructure
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Title
FIRST PLACE: EVANS MUGARI
Content

Evans Mugari wrote an article titled “Kyyivstar Cyber Attack: A Deep Dive into Cyber Warfare in Ukraine.” Mugari is an ardent advocate for cybersecurity, dedicating his career to safeguarding digital landscapes. With a deep-rooted passion for protecting data integrity and privacy, Mugari has immersed himself in various aspects of cybersecurity, from ethical hacking to network security. His journey began with a fascination for technology's potential and its vulnerabilities, leading him to pursue specialized education and certifications in the field. Mugari often shares his insights through workshops, blogs and conferences. Murgari is also a vocal proponent for cybersecurity education, aiming to empower individuals and organizations with the knowledge to navigate the digital world securely.

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SECOND PLACE: STAFF SGT. LOGAN HOUSTON, USAF
Content

Staff Sgt. Logan Houston, USAF, penned the article “Silence on Cyber Crimes Endangers Critical Infrastructure.” Houston is an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, serving at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Directorate. He specializes in system administration, scripting and automation. He has also previously written for Crosstalk: The Defense Software Engineering Journal. Houston holds an associate’s degree in information systems technology and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Arizona State University.

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THIRD PLACE: MATTHEW MAYNARD
Content

Matthew Maynard penned the article titled “Moving Beyond Traditional Risk Labels: Redefining Patch Management.” Maynard is a cybersecurity researcher with more than 18 years of experience in information technology and information security. He currently serves as an incident response analyst III and purple team lead at BJC HealthCare, where he focuses on proactive threat hunting, adversary emulation and strengthening cyber defenses in the health care sector. Outside of his role at BJC, Maynard specializes in researching dark web forums and cyber criminal ecosystems. He is also a regular contributor to cybersecurity, having presented at events including RSAC, ShowMeCon and the CISO Platform.

Section Title
2024 Winners: Mitigating Cyber Threats Today and Into the Future
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FIRST PLACE: SAMUEL RICHMAN
Content

Sam Richman, also a 2021 winner, won for his article "The Great Overcomplication." Richman is an associate principal solution architect at Red Hat, specializing in zero trust and DoD ecosystem partnerships.

The Great Overcomplication

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2024

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SECOND PLACE: MAJ. JONATHAN HARBIN, USA
Content

Second place went to Maj. Jonathan Harbin, USA, for his submission titled "Innovating Military Management Systems to Mitigate Hardware-Related Vulnerabilities." 

Innovating Military Management Systems To Mitigate Hardware-Related Vulnerabilities

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2024

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THIRD PLACE: GEORGE GALDORISI
Content

 

Third place was awarded to retired Capt. George Galdorisi, USN, who is also a 2021 winner, for his submission titled "Leveraging Social Engineering for Successful Cyber Operations: Enhancing Minds of Decision-Makers." 

Leveraging Social Engineering for Successful Cyber Operations: Enhancing Minds of Decision-Makers

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2024

Section Title
2023 Winners: Revolutionizing Cyber Operations
Accordion Items
Title
FIRST PLACE: RICHARD W. SKOWYRA, SAMUEL A. MERGENDAHL AND ROGER KHAZAN
Content

Roger Khazan leads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MITLL) Secure Resilient Systems and Technology (SRST) Group, helping solve some of the hardest technical problems relevant to national security. Samuel A. Mergendahl is an associate staff member in the MITLL SRST Group. He works on secure system engineering, including work that leverages advances in programming languages, such as Rust, to ensure functional and cyber assurance of critical mission systems. Richard W. Skowyra is a technical staff member at the MITTL SRST Group. He currently leads the group's efforts in designing cyber-resilient satellite systems.  

Holding the High Ground: Defending Satellites From Cyber Attack

SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023

Title
SECOND PLACE: CMDR. CLAYTON ROBINSON, USN (Ret.)
Content

Cmdr. Clayton Robinson, USN (Ret.), is a strategic planner with COLSA Corporation. 

Robotic Pawns: Unmanned Surface Vessels and Gray-Zone Warfare

SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023

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THIRD PLACE: JAMES CARNALL
Content

Physical-Cyber Convergence Outside the Perimeter

SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023

Section Title
2022 Winners: Emerging Technologies in the Cyber Realm
Accordion Items
Title
FIRST PLACE: MORGAN LIVINGSTON
Content

Morgan Livingston is a Science Policy Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute. 

Securing Machine Learning Requires a Sociotechnical Approach

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022 

 

Title
SECOND PLACE: ELIE ALHAJJAR
Content

Elie Alhajjar is a senior research scientist at the Army Cyber Institute and jointly an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Adversarial Machine Learning Poses a New Threat to National Security

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022 

 

Title
THIRD PLACE: MULTIPLE AUTHORS
Content
  • Lt. Col. Veronica Wendt, USA (Ret.) is a research fellow at the National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace (NDU CIC) 
  • Michelle Guo, is founder of MAGICAVE Media, LLC 
  • Dr. Anteneh Girma is associate professor of computer science and cybersecurity at the University of the District of Columbia 

Identifying Shared Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies for Cloud, Wireless, and IoT

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022 

Section Title
2021 Winners: The Future of Cyber War Fighting
Accordion Items
Title
FIRST PLACE: MULTIPLE AUTHORS
Content

 

  • George Galdorisi is director of Strategic Assessments and Technical Futures for the Naval Information Warfare Command Pacific 
  • Capt. Sam Tangredi, USN (Ret.) is professor of National, Naval and Maritime Strategy in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies of the U.S. Naval War College. 

From AI Hype to AI Proof

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021 

 

Title
SECOND PLACE: SAMUEL RICHMAN
Content

Samuel Richman, U.S. Defense Department systems engineer at Zscaler

Defending the Digital Human Digital Network

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021 

 

Title
THIRD PLACE : LT. COL. RYAN KENNY, USA
Content

Lt. Col. Kenny is the creator of an online forum to foster discussions on emerging technologies at www.militarycommunicators.org.

Precision-Guided Marketing and the Future of Information Operations

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021

Section Title
2020 Winners: The Digital Frontier
Accordion Items
Title
FIRST PLACE: MULTIPLE AUTHORS
Content

 

  • Dr. Bryan C. Ward is a  technical staff member in the Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.  
  • Ryan C. Burrow  is associate staff member in the Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.  
  •  

    Control Systems Need Software Security Too

    SIGNAL Magazine, June 2020 

 

Title
SECOND PLACE: MIDSHIPMAN ALLISON ANNICK, USN
Content

Midshipman Allison Annick, USN, is a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy majoring in cyber operations and minoring in Chinese 

Aging Workforce Brings On COBOL Crisis

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021 

Title
THIRD PLACE: STEPHEN WOOD
Content

Stephen Wood is Strategic product manager, Tripwire. 

Four Steps To Reduce IoT Risk

SIGNAL Magazine, July 2020 

 

SIGNAL's Sparky Baird Writing Contest

Prior to 2020, SIGNAL gave the Sparky Baird Writing Contest annual award to the author(s) of the outstanding SIGNAL Magazine article of the year. The W.J. "Sparky" Baird Award is named after Col. W.J. Baird, USA (Ret.), former general manager of AFCEA and editor of SIGNAL Magazine. Col. Baird became editor of  SIGNAL in 1956 and held that position for 18 years. He assumed the additional duty of AFCEA general manager in 1959. That position became AFCEA president in 1977.

 

Section Title
Sparky Baird Winners
Accordion Items
Title
2008-2019
Content

2019  


 "Cyberspace Triggers a New Kind of Arms Race" 

SIGNAL Magazine, February 2018 

Nicola Whiting, Titania 
  

2018  

"How the Hashtag is Changing Warfare, " SIGNAL Magazine, June 2017 

Adam B. Jonas, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command G-2/Threat Tec LLC 

 

2017 

"Army Braces for a Culture Clash," SIGNAL Magazine, January 2016 

Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney Dale Harris, USA (Ret.) 

 

2016  

"The Network of the Future is Needed Now,SIGNAL Magazine, December 2015 

Lt. Col. David R. Waller, USAF, United States Special Operations Command 

Maj. Ernest H. Jenkins, USA, United States Central Command 

Lt. Cmdr. Christina M. Hicks, USN, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic 

 

2015  

"Defense Acquisition, Meet Moore's Law," SIGNAL Magazine, August 2014 

Col. M. Thomas Davis, USA (Ret.) 

 

2014 

"The Failing of Air Force Cyber," SIGNAL Magazine, November 2013 

1st Lt. Robert Lee, USAF 

 

2013 

"The Tactical Edge Sees Data Interoperability," SIGNAL Magazine, November 2012 

Frank Klucznik 

Capt. Michael Stephens, USAF 

 

2012  

"A Culture Shock Is Coming," SIGNAL Magazine, July 2011 

Paul Strassman 
 

2011  

"China Enters the Aircraft Carrier Club," SIGNAL Magazine, April 2010 

James Bussert 

 

2010  

"Twitter is Mission Critical," SIGNAL Magazine, October 2009 

Carol Scheina 

Gabe Mounce 

Daniel Ward 

 

2009 

"Asymmetric Warfare Requires Intelligence Community Reorganization," SIGNAL Magazine, April 2008 

 Diana Raschke 

 

2008  

Vinh Nguyen 

"Current Trends in Intelligence Outsourcing Affect Workforce Stability," SIGNAL Magazine, December 2007 

 

 

Learn More About The Cyber Edge Writing Award