It is with deep sadness that we share the news that our founder and the Chair of the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation Board of Directors, Alan Paller, passed away on November 9.  He will be sorely missed by the Foundation team and the many for whom he was a friend and mentor. 

Alan was a pioneer in the cybersecurity industry, championing the need for greater education and knowledge for practitioners. His combination of passion, intellect, and ethical rigor was instrumental in bringing more skilled people into the profession. He founded SANS in 1989, a professional cybersecurity training organization that trains more than 40,000 cybersecurity technologists each year.  He was also President Emeritus of SANS Technology Institute, the nation's first regionally accredited specialized cybersecurity college and graduate school.

Most recently, Alan founded and chaired the Board of the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation, a new organization created to identify cybersecurity talent in high school and college and encourage their development through a fun game designed to expand diversity and opportunity in the tech industry. Through this initiative, many students from diverse backgrounds found a passion and talent they never knew existed.

One young student who participated said:

“After this program I know just where I want to be during and after college. In fact, this has changed every aspect of my life. Everything I do now - school, varsity track and cross country, Civil Air Patrol, cyber security programs - all points to one large goal: studying Computer Science. I have come to realize that cyber security provides thrill, teamwork, mystery, competition, and challenge that gratifies both shy, awkward nerds and animated athletes.”

Alan’s vision changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of security practitioners. His contribution to the industry was nothing short of monumental, and even in his last weeks he continued his life-long drive to make the world secure and to build and nurture the next generation.

Alan had a storied career, including testifying before the US Senate and House of Representatives and being selected as an initial member of President Clinton's National Infrastructure Assurance Council. He was chosen by President Bush's Office of Management and Budget and the Federal CIO Council as the 2005 Azimuth Award winner, a lifetime achievement award recognizing outstanding service of a single, non-government person to improving federal information technology. In 2010, the Washington Post named him one of seven people "worth knowing in cyber security." Alan co-chaired the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Committee's 2012 Task Force on Cyber Skills and headed the Task Force on Best Practices in Cybersecurity for the FCC Communications Security, Reliability,and Interoperability Council, and he was a member of the NASA Advisory Council.

National Cyber Scholarship Foundation Vice President and Board member Michele Guel said:

“Alan was a man of honor, character and integrity like no other I have met. There are no words to adequately describe the impact that Alan had on my life and my career in cybersecurity.  The 30 years of mentorship, friendship and partnership we shared truly changed the trajectory and the altitude of what I have accomplished. Yet, I was just one of tens of thousands of people that he impacted, and I am eternally grateful for all the years of friendship and partnership.  My colleagues on the Foundation Board and I are committed to carrying on his legacy to find, encourage and empower the next generation of cybersecurity professionals."

As the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation carries on the work that Alan initiated, we honor his extraordinary leadership,

Essye Miller

Franklin Reeder

Michele Guel

David Brown

The following organizations have set up funds to support finding and training the next generation.

Donations to honor Alan’s enduring legacy and life’s work can be made to:

National Cyber Scholarship Foundation - Alan Paller Memorial Scholarship Fund

Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) - Alan Paller Memorial Cyber Talent Emergency Fund

Last Mile Education Fund - Alan Paller Memorial Fund