Cybersecurity Research Engineer and Space Cyber affluent, R. Alex Rhodes retired from the U.S. Army in 2018 as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Digital Forensics Research Branch for the Army Criminal Investigative Division, (USACIDC). In addition to conducting digital forensics and felony investigations for the Army, he spent 5 years as a Russian Linguist and about 2 years as a Satellite Communications Specialist. After retiring from the Army, he worked for Lockheed Martin as a cybersecurity professional where he was awarded with the 2020 Technical Innovation Award for a classified cybersecurity project.

Alex’s next assignment was with Peraton where he used his previous experience to assist with completely rebuilding and revamping the cybersecurity program for the 62nd Cybersecurity Squadron, U.S. Space Force. While working on an assignment to help secure satellite platforms, Alex wrote a research paper highlighting the vulnerabilities inherent within the Telemetry and Commanding (TT&C) system of a satellite.

​Alex has numerous military and civilian awards over the last 20 years. He has an Associates in Russian Language from the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, a Bachelor’s of Science in Russian Studies from Excelsior College, and a Masters of Science in Cybersecurity with a focus in Information Assurance from Excelsior College.