Dave Dalva
SVP, Cyber Solutions
Aon Cyber Solutions/Stroz Friedberg
ABOUT ME
Dave Dalva, a Senior Vice President in Aon's Stroz Friedberg cyber solutions group, leads proactive and reactive cyber risk management initiatives. As a former CISO, Dalva helps private equity and enterprise clients effectively manage cyber risk through comprehensive services including testing, advisory, threat intelligence, digital forensics, incident response, and forensic accounting. Dalva's expertise lies in developing actionable, risk-based cyber strategies that align seamlessly with each client's unique organizational culture.
​
Dalva is a distinguished cybersecurity expert with over 25 years of experience in computer and network security. His career has been marked by significant contributions to national security initiatives and groundbreaking innovations in the private sector.
​
Government and Industry Contributions
As vice chair of the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Panel's Cyber Security Working Group, Dalva played a pivotal role in shaping national cybersecurity standards. He co-led the development and implementation of two critical publications:
-
NIST Interagency Report 7628: "Guidelines for Smart Grid Cyber Security"
-
Department of Energy's "Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Risk Management Process" guideline
These documents have become cornerstone references for cybersecurity practices in the energy sector.​​
Early Career and Research
Dalva's journey in cybersecurity began at Trusted Information Systems, where he made significant contributions to early firewall technology:
-
Original designer and developer of the Gauntlet firewall based on the TIS Firewall Toolkit
-
Provided consulting services to the Department of Defense, Fortune 500 corporations, and governments​
Awards
-
Co-inventor of three U.S. patents related to cybersecurity
-
CSO50 award in 2015 for innovation in managing cyber risk for a private equity client's investment portfolio
-
Author of influential papers on cyber and web security
During his time at UCLA, Dalva demonstrated his cybersecurity acumen by helping to identify and track some of the earliest hackers to breach the university's computer systems.
