Oral History Interview with Dr. Chuck Easttom

Abstract

This oral history interview is sponsored by and a part of NSF 2202484 “Mining a Useable Past: Perspectives, Paradoxes, and Possibilities with Security and Privacy,” at the Charles Babbage Institute. The interview begins with Chuck Easttom recounting how he got interested in computers. His interest developed from reading magazines and gradually taking up part-time jobs repairing PCs. He describes his developing interest in cybersecurity alongside the wide range of experiences that inform his work. He describes how his consulting business at Chuck Easttom Consulting grew. Described how the Certification industry was like. His first court work from 2004 as patent cases, before a private investigator's license related to digital forensic work in Dallas, Texas. Describes experiences publishing textbooks. Discusses the education of next generation of cybersecurity professionals. He related his experiences mentoring in a firm as compared to the university, and the implications of newest quantum computing technology for security at Vanderbilt University. The interview ends with final reflections on generative AI and the meaning of being an engineer in contrast with simply using the word when being a programmer.