DePaul University Athletics
Ex-Track Athlete Cherrington Guarded Our Nation From Cyber Attacks
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | DEPAUL ATHLETICS FUND
CHICAGO -- It wasn't long ago that former DePaul track athlete Aaron Cherrington would not have been able to tell you much about his job.
That was because of security-clearance restrictions when he was the branch chief of the United States Cyber Command.
The 2002 graduate received his degree in Network Technology with a minor in Political Science and later a master's degree in Leadership and Change Management. He was a computer network operations intelligence officer who had also worked for the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Cherrington contributed to the eye-opening Mandiant information security company's APT1 report exposing hackers stealing intellectual property from international corporations for the Chinese military.
APT1 is believed to be the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff Department's (GSD) 3rd Department, which is most commonly known by its Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD) as Unit 61398.
The report detailed the most prolific cyber-espionage group that Mandiant tracks---a single organization that has conducted a cyber-espionage campaign against a broad range of victims since at least 2006 and systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations.
APT1 focuses on compromising organizations across a broad range of industries in English-speaking countries and maintains an extensive infrastructure of computer systems around the world. The size of APT1's infrastructure implies a large organization with at least dozens, but potentially hundreds of human operators.
"The Mandiant report went public," Cherrington said. "Some of the positions I've held in the past, I would not be allowed to speak about them.
"Where the world is right now, political science and computer science have come together to create a technology that is so immensely important. A couple of years ago, hackers believed to be associated with the Iranian government launched cyberattacks on the U.S. banking industry to project power."
Cherrington, 34, ran the 400 meters, the 400m hurdles and the 4x400 meter relay team for the Blue Demons from 1998-2002. He came in seventh at the Conference USA Meet in the 400 hurdles as a senior and ran on the fifth-place 400m relay team.
Cherrington was back on campus earlier this month and honored with the Distinguished Alumni award presented by the DePaul chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honorary Society.
"I was right back at DePaul the day after receiving my award and met with faculty and students," said Cherrington who now works for FireEye. "We talked about leadership and what is going on in the rest of the world.
"What I do is monitor intelligence and predict what could happen to aid the decision-makers in a corporation or organization. Everything moves so fast that I can only plan for about 20 percent of my work day. The other 80 percent will find you."
Working out of his home in Denver, Cherrington is wary of our new cyber world.
"As evidence by the cyberattacks on Sony from North Korea, it's quicker and a lot less expensive to launch a cyberattack than the traditional means of deploying troops and dropping bombs," Cherrington said. "There is also less political fallout. Everything is more cyber-related, and that's where the world is at right now.
"Computers are such an integral part of everything. We have the U.S. Transportation Command, and their job is to get munitions, food, supplies to where the military needs them to go. A hacker or cyberattack could shut all that down.
"There had been four domains of warfare. The first one is land such as back in the Medieval times where you could only carry out war where there was land. The second domain is sea as ships took the battle beyond the land.
"The third domain is air when flight expanded warfare to the skies. The fourth domain is space with intercontinental ballistic missiles having a greater reach and spy satellites orbiting the Earth.
"The fifth domain is cyberspace, and this is the newest form of warfare that is re-inventing all the previous domains. Now, you don't need to physically plant a spy in another country. You simply hack into the internet."
It has been described as the age of the "logic bomb" where a cyberattack can turn off electricity, create chaos on Wall Street or infect high-tech military equipment with a virus. Corporations are dealing with this for the first time. Everyone is on equal footing with the internet.
While at DePaul, Cherrington immersed himself into political science and computer technology.
"I remember Aaron was always such a personable young man who was extremely dedicated to his academic pursuit," said DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto. "He had an incredible passion for political science and computer science at a young age, and it was an exciting journey to watch him weave those two passions into something unique. What he's accomplished has had a strong impact nationally and all over the world.
"He is a wonderful example for our student-athletes about how to achieve at the highest level by combining his academic and athletic experiences at DePaul.
"And along with all of that, Aaron would show his fun-loving side and made time to socialize, hang out at the Athletic Center and develop lasting relationships with his teammates and coaches."
One of his teammates was Jarrod Jahnke, a two-time C-USA hammer throw champion who passed away suddenly of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 32. Cherrington recently made a contribution to the Jared Jahnke Track and Field Scholarship in the midst of DePaul Athletics' annual Scholarship Month.
For 31 days in May, Blue Demon athletic programs engage in a scholarship awareness and funding initiative spearheaded by Athletics Development. This is a "scholarship derby" as alumni and alumnae of DePaul athletic programs compete for the highest number of gift donations and the most total funds raised in May.
"I've made contributions to the Jarrod Jahnke Scholarship the last two years because DePaul set me up and helped prepare me for future success," Cherrington said. "I want to give back as much as I can both financially and doing things for the university.
"I remember interacting with Jarrod on road trips. I was with the sprinters group and he was with the throwers. He was a very positive individual with a great work ethic. He was the kind of guy who could talk to anybody, and I remember all our talks being very positive."
Political science professor Dr. Richard Farkas had a positively wonderful experience with Cherrington.
"Aaron is a rather special character," said Farkas, who has taught at DePaul for more than 40 years. "Aaron spoke at the ceremony honoring his professional accomplishments by emphasizing how critical it was for him to study and grasp the politics of our world.
"In his case, the special focus was Soviet and Russian politics. He was one of those rare students who came quickly to recognize that understanding the political context is critical to moving ahead in any profession.
"Aaron demonstrated the same awareness of the practical use of his political science courses as another student who majored in something else and then professionally combined the interests: Natalie Jaresko is now the Ukraine Minister of Finance."
It didn't take Farkas long to recognize Cherrington's unique skills.
"His capacity to assess and evaluate the consequences for U.S. and corporate security is a special combination of qualities," Farkas said. "Aaron showed an understanding that in the 21st Century combinations of disciplines would enable him to engage new professions that did not exist in his college years. In this sense, he was ahead of the curve in preparing himself for professional success.
"Aaron is unassuming, displays an energy for whatever he does, and has strong people skills. Working as he does with technical wizards, his capacity to interpret and articulate complex ideas in ways that enable others to understand is a special quality.
"I remember Aaron as a student with genuine ambition and patriotism. He approached his studies the way a dedicated athlete might---with an eye to not the next race but to the long-term benefits of a fit life."
Professor Farkas was spot-on.
"It wasn't so much about where I finished in races, but more about what it would take to reach the next step and how to achieve the next goal," Cherrington said. "That same mentality I had on the track team, I keep with me today. How do I improve for the next day and motivate other people around me?"
Cherrington had a message he wanted to pass on.
"My message to current DePaul students: Be cross-disciplined as technology complements business which complements political science," Cherrington said. "Cross-training and learning different disciplines will benefit them for the rest of their lives."
-----
Join us in our annual challenge to raise endowed scholarship support for our student-athletes and managers while helping your favorite athletic program bring home the Scholarship Month crown. Gifts of $25 or more to a scholarship fund count toward the team totals. To make your gift: Call Keri Roth at 773-325-7240 or go online at http://alumni.depaul.edu/GiveToDePaul/Home/Athletics