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Martin Makaryan chosen to represent SAIS as 2025 RSA Security Scholar
Martin Markaryan
SAIS MAIR Candidate / Cybersecurity Policy Fellow, Internet Security Alliance
Martin Makaryan is a graduating master’s student at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he studies security and strategy with a focus on emerging technologies’ impact on national security. His expertise spans AI policy debates, transatlantic tech relations, and quantum technology’s national security implications.
Previously, he interned at the Internet Security Alliance, analyzing cybersecurity policy, where he is currently serving as a policy and government affairs fellow, and contributed to AI policy research at ITIF. Makaryan holds a B.A. in Political Science and Global Studies from UCLA, where he authored an honors thesis on NATO enlargement.
The RSAC Conference provides a continuous platform for cybersecurity professionals to gain knowledge, connect, and address evolving threats.
I learned about the RSA Conference Security Scholar program through the Emerging Technologies Initiative at SAIS and applied to work on a research project that began in a class I took at SAIS focusing on cybersecurity and counterintelligence. Until that class, I had not appreciated or delved deeply into cyber espionage and the security threat it poses to the U.S. innovation system. Quantum startups, thus, became the focus of my research and I am grateful for the opportunity to bring a policy-oriented approach to cybersecurity at this renowned conference.
I hope that by highlighting the threat of cyber espionage, I can generate thoughtful discussions on the best approach to protect sensitive research and trade secrets in early-stage companies that are going to be the backbone of the U.S. innovation system tomorrow. In the cybersecurity community, preoccupations with threat actors and emerging trends can often overshadow the more long-term, big-picture challenges we are facing as a country and as an ecosystem, and I believe that targeted, good policy can help close the gap between the private sector and the government.
I am really excited to meet the other security scholars—many of whom, I am sure, have technical backgrounds—and learn about their projects and their perspectives on the most pressing cybersecurity challenges that are awaiting us.
My first and foremost advice is to not be intimidated by the lack of technical background or expertise to get into cybersecurity. There is value in bringing policy and political experience into the field as ultimately, what the cyber landscape looks like tomorrow depends on choices made today, many of which remain political and policy choices. Also, talk to as many people as you possibly can: you may be surprised how many experts, even the most senior ones, are ready and willing to share their knowledge and perspectives with you if you reach out.
RSA Conference Q&A with Martin
Alena Mikhaelyan chosen to represent SAIS at the 2025 Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Conference
Alena Mikhaelyan
SAIS MAIR Candidate
Alena Mikhaelyan is a graduating master’s student at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she specializes in Security, Strategy, and Statecraft, with a research focus on power asymmetry in territorial disputes, gender, and regional partnerships. In Security, her interests lie at the intersection of cybersecurity policy and national security strategy, with a particular emphasis on emerging threats in critical infrastructure protection.
Prior to SAIS, Alena has built a decade-long career in international recruiting across legal, biotech, and banking sectors in Europe and North America. She is also a passionate advocate for Armenian women in political leadership. Alena earned a B.A in International Business and Economics from LCC International University, Klaipeda, Lithuania, and Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP University Law School, London, UK.
The annual Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Conference is the premier event to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity, bringing together women from academia, research, government and industry.
At SAIS, I focus on the intersection of cybersecurity policy and national security strategy, with particular emphasis on emerging threats in critical infrastructure protection. I'm also interested in public-private partnerships for cybersecurity resilience and the evolving nature of digital sovereignty.
I wanted to attend WiCyS to connect with other women trailblazing in cybersecurity and to gain insights from industry leaders that will complement my academic perspective at SAIS.
I'm most looking forward to the hands-on workshops and networking opportunities that will allow me to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical applications in the cybersecurity field.
I value my time at SAIS for the unparalleled access to thought leaders in international (cyber)security and the rigorous analytical framework it provides for understanding complex cyber threats in their broader geopolitical context.
WiCyS Conference Q&A with Alena