Maretta Morovitz is the Engage Lead at MITRE, where she simplifies the planning of adversary engagement for cyber defenders. Maretta likens her cyber defense work to the movie Home Alone, setting a series of traps for the cyber adversary akin to those of Kevin McCallister.

Maretta began her career at MITRE with an internship, where she met her mentor, Dr. Stan Barr, the MITRE Engage chief scientist: “He was always there to pull me out if I was floundering and drowning, but he gave me the space I needed to make mistakes, learn from them, and figure out how to not make them again.”

Despite having a computer scientist father, Maretta discovered her passion for the industry only in college. After observing a friend who was a computer science major, she found that maybe her dad (and computer science) were cooler than she had initially thought. Maretta also shares on the podcast the importance of her Boston roots and her unique connection to John and Abigail Adams.

To kick off the show, Jack Clabby from Carlton Fields, P.A., and Kayley Melton from KnowBe4 discuss Kenya’s efforts to improve national cybersecurity to protect its fast-growing digital economy. They also cover how the United States and the private sector are contributing to the Kenyan model for digital transformation in Africa, particularly through a dynamic digital ecosystem known as the “Silicon Savannah.”