Lavin Exclusive Speaker
Cyber spying. Russian hacking. DNC leaks, fake news, and manipulation. To Laura Galante, cybersecurity—and cyber literacy—are indispensable tools for any government or corporation. From The New York Times and CNN to the TED main stage, Galante makes sense of a subject notorious for spin—and links the need for digital literacy to a defense of both corporate security and democracy itself.
Laura Galante analyzes how the modern state uses cyberspace, or information space, to further its interests. She describes a domain where militaries, intelligence services, criminal groups, and individuals interact and jockey for power—with far fewer restraints than in the physical world. To assist governments, corporations, and private citizens in recognizing and responding to the myriad of cyber threats coming from every direction, she founded her own organization: Galante Strategies. There, she directed analysis for the 2019 Ukrainian Election Task Force, developing a security framework for the Ukrainian government and serving as an expert witness for cyber warfare claims.
Galante previously served as Director of Global Intelligence at FireEye (formerly Mandiant), where her teams investigated network activity, profiled advanced threats, and communicated the political, military, and financial implications of cyber operations. Her teams exposed Russian and Chinese military operations and authored numerous public intelligence reports, including APT28: A Window into Russia’s State Cyber Espionage; Red Line Drawn: China Recalculates its Use of Cyber Espionage; and Hacking the Street? FIN4 Likely Playing the Market. Prior to her work at FireEye, she led a team analyzing state cyber capabilities contracted at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
Galante has testified at the UN Security Council, and regularly comments in global and industry media. She is both a leading voice and trusted authority for organizations seeking plain-spoken, lucid explanations on cyber security, including CNN, Bloomberg, NPR, BBC, Fox News, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Galante also speaks frequently about the future of state conflict and security, including in her brilliant talk given on the TED mainstage. She holds a J.D. from the Catholic University of America and a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Italian from the University of Virginia.