Vikram Sethi

Career

Vikram Sethi began his academic career as an assistant professor at Southwest Missouri State University (later renamed Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri. He subsequently joined the University of Texas at Arlington, where he served as associate professor and PhD coordinator at the College of Business between 1999 and 2003.

In 2003, Sethi joined the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University as a department chair and professor of information systems and operations management. Three years later, in 2006, he founded the Institute of Defense Studies and Education at Wright State University and served as its director until 2017. The institute was established to support the US Department of Defense, commercial industry, and other stakeholders by drawing on expertise from government, the military, academia, and the private sector. In October 2011, the institute hired a retired US Air Force commander at the rank of Major General.

Beyond the Institute of Defense Studies and Education, Sethi also served as Director of the Data Intensive Supply Chain Research Center at Wright State University, an initiative focused on supply chains supported by information technology and data, including RFID technologies. He additionally manages the university's supply chain program, which offers certifications across nine subject areas. In 2007, he established Wright State University's Center of Professional Education and has continued to serve as its director. He has also served as an advisor to the dean of the college.

Publications and Research

Sethi has authored several books on cybercrime and organizational transformation and has published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. His 1998 book, Organizational Transformation Through Business Process Reengineering: Applying Lessons Learned, published by Pearson College Division, addressed enterprise-level change management.

His 2015 work, Weapons of Mass Psychological Destruction and the People Who Use Them, published by Praeger Publishing as part of its Practical and Applied Psychology series, examines the transition from conventional kinetic warfare to cyber warfare through a series of case studies. In it, Sethi argues that "cyber war is already upon us" and contends that only a robust, multinational cyber regime can alter its long-term trajectory. A follow-up volume, Cyber Weapons of Mass Psychological Destruction: And the People Who Use Them, was published in 2020 by Greylander Press.

Notable Work and Advocacy

A consistent theme throughout Sethi's research and public commentary is the call for the establishment of a global cyber regime capable of mitigating the risks of cyber warfare and managing the cyber policies of diverse nations. He has highlighted the particular vulnerability of small and medium-sized businesses — especially those in the Dayton, Ohio area — to cyberattacks, and has drawn attention to the growing threat posed by readily available ransomware on the dark web.

Sethi has also examined how seemingly ordinary devices and legacy technologies can be repurposed as weapons, and has explored the implications of such vulnerabilities for supply chain security. He has argued that strategic planning, investment in advanced technology, and strong public-private partnerships are essential for nation-states seeking to defend against evolving cyber threats.