We are pleased to welcome Perri Adams, Special Assistant to the Director at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to the Alperovitch Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Perri will be teaching an intensive course on the theory and principles behind hacking and securing complex computer systems.
“Perri is widely respected in the broader infosec community for her extraordinary range: she effortlessly leaps from the deeply technical to the political, from vulnerability discovery and reverse engineering all the way to discussing the political intricacies of offensive operations. We are thrilled work with her at the Institute,” said Thomas Rid, Founding Director of the Alperovitch Institute
Perri is a Special Assistant to the Director at DARPA, where she advises the DARPA and stakeholders across the U.S. Government on the next generation of AI and cybersecurity technology. She joined DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O) as a program manager in June 2022, where, among other programs, she created the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC).
Prior to this role, Perri served as a technical advisor for government research and development programs at DARPA. Before joining the agency, she supported various U.S. government customers, including DARPA and other parts of the Department of Defense, while at Boeing and Two Six Technologies.
A frequent speaker on both technical and cyber policy issues, her written work has been published by Lawfare and the Council on Foreign Relations. For years, Perri has been an avid participant in cybersecurity Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions and was one of the organizers of the DEF CON CTF, the world’s premier hacking competition. Perri holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a proud alumna of the computer security club, RPISEC.