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About Us
Ivy Cyber is an agile team of innovators bringing you better privacy, stronger security, transformative education, and well-informed analysis. Our leadership consists of cybersecurity researcher Sean O’Brien, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, political cartoonist Ted Rall, and visionary engineer Mikalai Birukou. We have gathered a team of experts from four continents to create technology and media that educates and empowers people around the world. Our shared vision includes the Ivy Cyber Academy curriculum, the PrivacySafe catalog of secure software and hardware, and the Whistle Post independent media platform.
We bring together a diverse set of skills, products, and services under the Ivy Cyber umbrella. Our combined accomplishments in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 include deploying 6 PrivacySafe web apps, onboarding international teams to the PrivacySafe Enterprise Suite, hosting innovative Ivy Cyber Academy seminars on intelligence and surveillance techniques, and publishing a wide variety of articles and videos across independent and mainstream media. We speak, act, and build from experience and don’t wait for permission to bring you a freer and more censorship-resistant Internet.
Sean O’Brien
FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Sean O’Brien is an Associate Research Scholar at Yale Law School and Program Director of the Cybersecurity and Computer Science Programs, as well as Assistant Professor, at Bay Path University. He is founder of Yale Privacy Lab and has more than two decades of experience in the private and public sectors in areas such as infrastructure management, open source, and blockchain security. At Ivy Cyber, “Prof Diggity” develops the curriculum of remote classes for Ivy Cyber Academy and drives the direction of the PrivacySafe secure hardware and software products. Sean’s expertise has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, AP, NBC, Popular Science, Forbes, and more.
On the Web:
Yale Privacy Lab
John Kiriakou
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
John Kiriakou is a former high-ranking CIA counter-terrorism officer and the first U.S. official to confirm CIA torture of detainees. Punished for being a whistleblower, he served nearly two years in a federal prison. He also exposed the CIA’s role in the secret rendition and torture of Canadian citizen Maher Arar in Syria. Since his release, Kiriakou has become a leading advocate for transparency, civil liberties, and whistleblower protections. At Ivy Cyber, John applies his unique and hard-won experience to lead resilient security operations, manage organizational risk, and help businesses identify vulnerabilities, understand threats, and respond in real time.
In the Press:
John Kiriakou on Tucker Carlson
Ted Rall
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Ted Rall, cartoonist for Forbes, is America’s most widely-syndicated alternative editorial cartoonist. Twice the winner of the RFK Journalism Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Rall’s cartoons and illustrations have appeared in Time, Newsweek, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice and hundreds of other publications and websites. He is a regular contributor to MAD magazine. Ted drives the creative direction at Ivy Cyber, bringing his graphical expertise to software and media products. As Editor-in-Chief of Whistle Post, Ted brings his telltale wit and scathing insight to the fore, shaping the outlet’s bold voice and fearless editorial vision.
On the Web:
Ted Rall’s Rallblog
Mikalai Birukou
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Mikalai Birukou is an expert engineer of decentralized, privacy-by-design technologies and leads the development of secure software and hardware platforms at Ivy Cyber. He has been building the 3NWeb protocols for several years, whose open source specifications are currently hosted at IEEE SA Open. Mikalai manages engineering of the PrivacySafe Enterprise Suite, which serves as the reference implementation of the 3NWeb standard. He brings deep expertise in network infrastructure and systems architecture to Ivy Cyber, with a mission to create digital spaces where people control their own data and lives.
On the Web:
3NWeb at IEEE SA Open
Cherise Labonte
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Cherise Labonte is a licensed Registered Nurse and executive consultant specializing in health informatics, digital health strategy, and clinical data systems. With experience in a variety of U.S. and Canadian healthcare settings, she combines frontline clinical expertise with advanced training in Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Cherise has a strong academic research background in nutrition, kinesiology, and chronic disease management. At Ivy Cyber, Cherise provides tailored consulting for organizations that helps leaders identify operational risks, modernize clinical systems, and build resilient, patient-centered data strategies.
On Social Media:
LinkedIn Profile
Sheree Ip
DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION & STRATEGY
Sheree Ip is admitted as a barrister and solicitor in Australia and leads global strategy at Ivy Cyber. She brings over 15 years of global experience in corporate development, legal compliance, and blockchain commercialization. Sheree played a key role in Australia’s first ICO and has contributed to national policy reform through Blockchain Australia. She leads the direction of CertMagi.com, a blockchain-verified platform designed to deploy and authenticate digital assets for Ivy Cyber Academy. Her expertise spans token architecture and regulatory frameworks across sectors including energy, media, and education.
On the Web
CertMagi.com
Isaac Barnes May
DIRECTOR OF LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
Isaac Barnes May is a First Amendment scholar at Yale Law School who focuses on the evolution of religion, speech, and press freedoms amid social and technological change. As Resident Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and the Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression, he leads research on constitutional protections for journalists. He is a graduate of Earlham College, Harvard Divinity School, the University of Virginia (PhD), and Yale Law School (JD). While earning his JD at Yale, he was a Coker Fellow, Legal History Fellow, and served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities. Isaac is the author of two books on religion and law in America. He brings deep legal and ethical expertise to Ivy Cyber.
On the Web:
Isaac at Yale Law School
Marcia K. Wilbur
SOFTWARE DEPLOYMENT LEAD
Marcia K. Wilbur is an accomplished developer, author, and privacy advocate with deep expertise in secure software systems. As Software Deployment Lead at Ivy Cyber, she develops and deploys the PrivacySafe GNU/Linux operating system. Marcia has a long history of digital rights activism and has spoken at Yale Law School on digital rights. Her work includes campaigns with the Free Software Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she contributed to the DMCA FAQs and participated in early DeCSS legal discourse. She specializes in IoT, on-premise integrations, and machine learning applications including computer vision, LLMs, and audio processing.
Link Goes Here
Marcia’s Projects
Aliaxandr Smirnou
PRODUCT DESIGN LEAD
Aliaxandr Smirnou is a digital product designer who blends form and function to create seamless, user-centered experiences. In his role at Ivy Cyber, he specializes in interface design that balances aesthetics with usability across platforms and devices. With expertise across a wide variety of UI/UX and graphic design tools, Aliaxandr brings a refined visual language to every project. His work pushes the boundaries of modern user experience: delivering clarity, efficiency, and elegance at every pixel. Passionate about innovation and accessibility, he leads design efforts that translate complex systems into intuitive, meaningful experiences for users worldwide.
On Social Media:
LinkedIn Profile
Vitaly Kashkel
FULL STACK ENGINEERING LEAD
Vitaly Kashkel has many years of experience building web, enterprise, and mobile applications. He has worked in a variety of environments with global teams, driving projects personally and as an essential component of large organizations. He is proficient in modern JavaScript frameworks for frontend development and has strong skills building applications that run on secure systems. Vitaly’s business background enhances his ability to communicate technical ideas clearly to non-technical stakeholders. His responsible, solutions-oriented approach ensures reliable project delivery across Ivy Cyber’s privacy-first apps as part of the PrivacySafe Enterprise Suite.
On Social Media:
LinkedIn Profile
