About KCFC Leadership

 Professor Abdul R. Yarali
President and Founder

Professor Abdul R. Yarali is the President and Founder of the Kentucky Center of Academic Excellence (KY-CAE), a collaborative initiative uniting colleges and universities across Kentucky that offer cybersecurity, forensics, and computing programs. Through this forum, institutions work together on joint cybersecurity initiatives, advancing education, research, and statewide awareness in this critical field.

As the founder of the Kentucky Cybersecurity and Forensics Conference (KCFC), Dr. Yarali has played a pivotal role in raising cybersecurity awareness throughout the Commonwealth. His leadership has established KCFC as a premier annual event that brings together academia, industry, and government to address emerging cybersecurity challenges. Before establishing KCFC, he served on numerous university-level committees at Murray State University—including the Advisory Board of Directors for budget planning, the Faculty Senate, the Academic Policy Committee, and departmental and promotional committees.

Dr. Yarali is an internationally recognized researcher and educator in engineering, wireless communications, cybersecurity, and networking. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida, George Washington University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), respectively. His professional career began in the wireless mobile communications industry, where he served as a technical advisor and engineering director. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member in the School of Engineering at Murray State University.

During his industry tenure, Dr. Yarali led engineering teams in mobile communications system design, security, implementation, and optimization, completing contracts with leading telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Nortel in the United States. His academic contributions include publishing over 60 research papers and authoring books on cybersecurity, digital forensics, IoT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and advanced wireless technologies.

In 2018, Dr. Yarali spearheaded Murray State University’s successful designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (NCAE-CDE) by the National Security Agency. He served as Murray State’s principal and point of contact for the NCAE curriculum evaluation process from 2018 to 2022.

Dr. Yarali’s scholarship and leadership have been recognized with numerous awards, including:

• Murray State University Alumni Association Distinguished Researcher Award (2025)
• Outstanding Research Award, Jesse D. Jones College of Science and Engineering (2020)
• Neil Weber Award for Excellence, Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering, and Technology (2019)
• Best Professor of the Year: Sandra Flynn Professor of the Year Award (2009), recognizing his commitment to supporting international students

He has served as a keynote speaker, panelist, chair, and organizer for national and international conferences and workshops on topics such as wireless communications, cybersecurity, drones, and small satellites. His research collaborations include projects with the National Institute of Hometown Security (NIHS), funded by the Department of Homeland Security, and the NASA Kentucky Drone project.

Throughout his career, Dr. Yarali has combined vision, leadership, and technical expertise to achieve significant success for universities, companies, organizations, and students alike. His work continues to inspire innovation and collaboration in the fields of engineering, wireless communication, and cybersecurity.