About KCFC Leadership

Professor Abdul R. Yarali established this collaborative activity with all NCAE-designated colleges and universities in Kentucky. This forum is the KY Center for Academic Excellence (KY-CAE), which brings together for a joint cybersecurity work task, paving the road to cybersecurity awareness in our state.

Dr. Abdul Yarali is the founder and president of the Kentucky Cybersecurity and Forensics Conference (KCFC). Before establishing KCFC, he served on the Advisory Board of Directors of budget planning and has served on the faculty senate, academic policy, departmental, and university promotional committees at Murray State University. Dr. Yarali is an internationally recognized researcher and educator in engineering, wireless, cybersecurity, and networking. He received his B.S., MS, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida, George Washington University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and State University, respectively. Following graduation, he worked chiefly in the wireless mobile communications industry field as a technical advisor and engineering director and, since 2003, as a faculty of the School of Engineering at Murray State University, Murray, KY. While in the wireless industry, as the project leader, he has led research and engineering teams working on location, completing numerous contracts in wireless mobile communications systems design, security, implementation, and optimization for leading telecommunications companies such as AT&T and NORTEL in the U.S. In addition to his industrial experiences and academic research, Dr. Yarali has published more than 60 papers, and he is the author of 10 books on cybersecurity, Forensics, IoT, cloud, AI, and wireless 4G, 5G, and 6G.

In 2018, Dr. Yarali led the development of Murray State University, becoming a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (NCAE-CDE), as designated by the National Security Agency. Dr. Yarali was appointed as the principal and Point of Contact of Murray State from 2018-2022 by the Office of the Provost and VP for education for NCAE for the curriculum evaluation process.

Dr Yarali was selected to receive the 2019 Neil Weber Award for Excellence in the Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering, and Technology at Murray State University. In 2020, he was selected to receive the Jessi Jones College of Science and Engineering Outstanding Research Award. Yarali received the Sandra Flynn Professor of the Year award (2009), recognizing his effort to help international students.

Dr. Yarali has served as a participant, panelist, chair, keynote, and organizer for workshops and conferences on integrating teaching and research, particularly in wireless communications, cybersecurity, drones, and small satellites. He has been a co-investigator in several projects, including the GNSS, wireless, and wired security projects with the National Institute of Hometown Security (NIHS), tasked by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and NASA KY Drone project. Dr. Yarali’s vision and skills have been the hallmark of his career and have resulted in major success for the universities, companies, organizations, and students he has served.