{{Short description|American computer security expert (1977–2021)}} {{Infobox scientist |name = Nick Levay (Rattle) |image = Nick_Levay.jpg |image_size = |caption = Nick Levay (Rattle), 2006 |birth_date = {{birth date |1977|04|21}} |birth_place = New Jersey |death_date = {{death date and age|2021|07|16|1977|04|21}} |death_place = New Jersey |residence = |citizenship = |nationality = |ethnicity = |field = |work_institutions = |alma_mater = [[Middle Tennessee State University]] |known_for = [[MemeStreams]], Chief Security Officer at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], [[Carbon Black (company)|Carbon Black]], [[Center for American Progress]] |author_abbrev_bot = |author_abbrev_zoo = |influences = |influenced = |prizes = |religion = |footnotes = |website = http://nicklevay.net }} '''Nick Levay''' (1977–2021) also known as '''Rattle''' was an American [[computer security]] expert and [[hacker (computer security)|hacker]]. He was the Chief Security Officer at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] and other organizations such as [[Carbon Black (company)|Carbon Black]] and the [[Center for American Progress]]. From 2018–2021 he was the President of the [https://www.ngoisac.org/about-us/ NGO-ISAC], an [[Information Sharing and Analysis Center]] nonprofit serving US-based [[non-governmental organizations]].
==Early career as Rattle== Levay was born in 1977 in [[New Jersey]], and learned at a young age that he had an affinity for hardware and liked to take things apart to see how they worked. When he was four, his parents gave him a toolbox, which he says he immediately used to take apart the clothes dryer. When he was six, his father gave him an [[IBM PCjr]], but he found that programming didn't hold his interest. He preferred things such as radio and [[Radio-controlled car|remote-controlled cars]]. When he received an [[Apple IIc]] and a 300 baud [[modem]] though, he was much more intrigued when he realized that computers could be used to communicate.<ref name=pirate/>
===Origin of the Rattle name=== When he was 12 and was talking to someone on [[Citizens band radio|CB Radio]], he was asked for his handle, but didn't have an answer. The person on the other end spontaneously dubbed him as Rattle. Levay liked the name and continued to use it, and then when he got involved with computers and needed a pseudonym for [[Bulletin board system|BBSes]], he kept the same name. He self-identified as a hacker, and also set up his own BBS.<ref name=fireside>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T8OZpCJFzc|title=David Raviv, Nick Levay (Rattle) Fireside chat|date=November 13, 2019|publisher=The Cyber Guild (RiseNYC)|format=video}}</ref><ref name=pirate/>
When it came time for college, Levay decided that he wanted to combine his interests in hardware and music, and to study [[audio engineer]]ing. He moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] where he attended [[Middle Tennessee State University]], receiving a degree in [[music industry|music business]] and [[communications management]]. He continued to connect with other hackers in the area, joining the Nashville chapter of se2600, a splinter group of the national [[2600: The Hacker Quarterly|2600]] culture. He and his friends organized an annual convention for hackers and technology enthusiasts in the Nashville area, [[PhreakNIC]]. They also became the subjects of a pioneering profile of hacker culture in 1999, "Cyber Pirates" in the ''[[Nashville Scene]]''.<ref name=pirate>Hanback, James (October 7, 1999) "[https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/cyber-pirates/article_c7736faa-fb05-5791-aed5-c01cd45983a4.html Cyber Pirates: Nashville hackers say they are misunderstood]". [[Nashville Scene]]</ref>
== Computer security professional == In 2001, Levay and [[computer security]] expert [[Tom Cross (computer security)|Tom Cross]] co-founded the company Industrial Memetics, building an early social-networking website and blog, [[MemeStreams]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.industrialmemetics.com/officers.php|title=Executive Officers|publisher=Industrial Memetics|accessdate=2013-08-08}}</ref> He also began contractor work with various organizations as a computer security consultant. He was the director of global systems engineering for [[iAsiaWorks]], building data centers in southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.406ventures.com/news/1262-bit9-names-nick-levay-chief-security-officer|title=Bit9 names Nick Levay Chief Security Officer|date=June 12, 2013|publisher=406Ventures}}</ref>
In 2007 he started as a contractor at the [[Center for American Progress]], where he established monitoring systems and redesigned the organization's network. Over the next few years he was promoted to the Director of Technical Operations and Information Security. He left in 2013 to become Chief Security Officer at [[VMware Carbon Black|Bit9]] (later VMware Carbon Black), joining after that company suffered a major data breach.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.crn.com/news/security/240160295/in-wake-of-data-breach-bit9s-new-cso-is-shoring-up-security-defenses.htm|publisher=[[CRN (magazine)|CRN]]|title=In wake of data breach, Bit9's new CSO is shoring up security defenses|author=Westervelt, Robert|date=August 22, 2013|accessdate=June 11, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why a former NSA chief just made a big mistake by dissing hackers|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|author=Peterson, Andrea|date=August 7, 2013|accessdate=June 11, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/08/07/why-a-former-nsa-chief-just-made-a-big-mistake-by-dissing-hackers/}}</ref>
In 2015 he moved on to become the Chief Security Officer at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], serving there until 2018, after which he formed the NGO-ISAC,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/ngo-information-sharing-and-analysis-center,814429023/ |publisher=Cause IQ|title=Ngo information sharing and analysis center|accessdate=June 11, 2021}}</ref> an [[Information Sharing and Analysis Center]] for [[Non-governmental Organization]]s. It is a nonprofit focused on facilitating communication among US-based NGOs and nonprofits which are being attacked from [[threat actor]]s, allowing the NGOs to share threat information and coordinate things such as contingency plan exercises.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngoisac.org/about-us/|accessdate=June 11, 2021|publisher=ngoisac.org|title=About us|work=NGO Information Sharing and Analysis Center }}</ref>
==Public speaking==
Active in the computer security convention community, Levay was a frequent participant at conventions such as [[DEF CON|Def Con]], and presented at [[PhreakNIC]], an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville. A 2011 talk there was on "Counter Espionage Strategy and Tactics".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phreaknic.info/pn15/schedule.php#17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705032025/http://archive.phreaknic.info/pn15/schedule.php|title=Counter Espionage Strategy and Tactics|publisher=[[PhreakNIC]]|date =2013|archive-date=2018-07-05}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * [http://www.memestreams.net/topics/ MemeStreams Site Information] * [http://linkedin.com/in/nicklevay/ Nick Levay at LinkedIn]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Levay, Nick}} [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:2021 deaths]] [[Category:People from New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee]] [[Category:Middle Tennessee State University alumni]] [[Category:Chief executives of computer security organizations]]