Jake Braun

Braun is a graduate of Troy St. University where he earned an MA in International Relations. He also has a Master’s in Secondary Education from National Louis University in Chicago and a BA in Philosophy from Loyola University of Chicago.[4] 

Braun has worked on political campaigns for Democratic and progressive candidates. He has also worked with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)[5] and multiple state Democratic Party committees. From 2007 to 2008, Braun served as the National Deputy Field Director to the 2008 Obama for America Campaign,[6] where he oversaw all field organizing efforts and integration of social media, targeting and traditional communication platforms into the national grassroots effort.  Braun previously oversaw the field program for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in Michigan and worked extensively in Iowa during the 2004 presidential primary.[7]

Braun was appointed White House Liaison to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on January 21, 2009. Prior to his appointment, Braun served on the Presidential Transition Team in 2008-2009 for the Obama Administration as Deputy Director for the National Security Agencies Review, which oversaw the agency review process for the State Department, DOD, DHS, CIA, USAID and others.[4]

After his tenure in the Obama Administration, Braun focused on cybersecurity issues. He serves in the President’s Circle on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and as a strategic advisor to the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon on cybersecurity. His courses at the Harris School include "Cyber Security in the Digital Age" and "The Intersection of Cyber Threats and Human Rights."[1] Braun founded Chief Executive Officer for Global Advisors with Christopher Burham and Jane Holl Lute in 2013. As of 2018, CGA was advising the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on policy, workforce development and other cybersecurity issues.[8] The company also works with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on cyber security and communications programs. Braun also served as Managing Director of Cambridge Global Capital where he identifies investment opportunities and raises capital for cybersecurity and other start-up companies.[4]

In 2017, following intelligence reports highlighting Russian hacking attempts and interference in the 2016 presidential election, Braun was credited with co-founding the inaugural Voting Machine Hacking Village (Voting Village) at DEF CON, the world’s largest and longest-running hacker conference. The event featured voting equipment used in federal, state and local U.S. elections and made them available to white-hat hackers and cyber researchers for the purpose of education, experimentation, and to demonstrate the cyber vulnerabilities of such equipment.[9]  The event was renewed in 2018 and 2019 and featured additional components of U.S. election infrastructure including the hacking of mock Secretary of State websites.[10] In cooperation with DEF CON, Braun has co-authored two award-winning and seminal works on election infrastructure cyber vulnerabilities, The DEF CON 25[11] and 26[12] Voting Village Reports.  

On February 13, 2018, in a hearing titled “Defending Our Democracy: Building Partnerships to Protect America’s Elections,” Braun testified before the U.S. House Homeland Committee on his election security work with CPI and DEF CON.[13]

Braun serves as Executive Director for the University of Chicago Harris Cyber Policy Initiative,[14] founded in 2018, housed within the Harris School of Public Policy, where he works at the center of politics, technology, and national security to advance the field of cyber policy. He also teaches a course on cybersecurity at the Harris School.

Braun is the author of a book on the subject of election security entitled 'Democracy in Danger: How Hackers and Activists Exposed Fatal Flaws in the Election System published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019,[15] as well as a June 2020 article in the Boston Review entitled "A Perfect Storm of Vulnerabilities Could Determine the 2020 Election."[16]

In 2018, Braun was the Gold winner for North American Cybersecurity Educator of the Year and Bronze winner for the North American Cybersecurity Consultant of the Year Awards from Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. Along with the team that wrote the DEF CON Voting Village report, including DEF CON Founder Jeff Moss, Braun was also Gold winner for the Cybersecurity Project of the Year and finalist for the award for Cybersecurity Team of the Year.[17]